pollution

Cerro Cama river runs red

Runoff from Blue Ribbon pig farms has leaked into the river in Cerro Cama, sickening residents

In 2000, Anam fined Blue Ribbon $12,000 after chemicals used for treating pig waste overflowed

LA PRENSA

red tide: Anam and Minsa ordered the immediate closure of the Cerro Cama water treatment plant on February 10 after residents reported the waters of the Río Caño Quebrado ran red with pig farm runoff. 1010454

The everyday activities of bathing, cooking and drinking water from the tap have become an issue of great concern for nearly 4,500 people in La Chorrera who depend on the Cerro Cama aqueduct as their only source of potable water. Runoff from Blue Ribbon Products, S.A.´s commercial pig farms has contaminated the Río Caño Quebrado to theRío Caño Quebrado point that local residents claim it is making them ill.

According to an Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam) report, Blue Ribbon Products´s pig farms have a record of contamination that dates back to 2000, when the company arrived in La Chorrera. In that same year, Anam fined the company $12,000 after chemicals used in the treatment of pig excrement were reported to have spilled from their containers.

That incident left the residents of Cerro Cama and surrounding areas without water for 11 days, and many of them said they were sickened by the effluent after consuming the river water.

Last February 10, residents´s concerned for the safety of their water source were stricken with fear as the river flowed red.

The Ministerio de Salud (Minsa), along with Anam, took samples of the tainted river water and closed the Cerro Cama water treatment plant. In addition, Blue Ribbon was ordered to help with the clean up. The company hired tank trucks to deliver water to the nearby population.

Authorities then conducted a series of inspections to verify the water´s quality at intervals following the incident. During the last test, Anam and a private company hired by Blue Ribbon found that the level of contamination had decreased. As a result, Minsa´s regional director, Ismael Vergara, recommended reopening the treatment plant.

However, he said, this does not mean that the treated water will be sent to the community right away, as further testing is still necessary.

Cerro Cama inhabitants have said that they will not allow Blue Ribbon to continue operating in the area, because there was no guarantee that there won´t be more spills.

Calisto Camargo, chairman of the Comisión de Agua in Cerro Cama, said that the area is still in danger since the farms´s oxidation pools, where pig feces are chemically treated, slope towards the river and can overflow at any time.