environment

City river system polluted

An Anam study found moderate to high pollution levels in the capital’s eight rivers.

Sewage is the principal pollutant in both the rivers and the bay, a problem the bay clean up project could resolve.

Gabriel Rodríguez/LA PRENSA

undervalued: Jorge Rivas of the Asociación para la Promoción de Nuevas Alternativas de Desarrollo said Panamanians have a history of exploiting the country’s rivers for pure commercial profit.1065138

A recent report by the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam) found moderate to high levels of pollution in all of the eight rivers flowing through Panama City.

“The most polluted zones are in areas close to population centers associated with commercial and industrial activities, which are usually located in the lower basin or mouth of a river,” said the report.

The results of Anam’s annual Programa de Monitoreo de la Calidad del Agua Nacional, which was started in 2002, show that water quality in the capital’s rivers is so poor that, in some cases, it must be specially treated before use in industry.

The study deemed recreational activities on all of the rivers as either “not recommended” or “not advisable.” Only very resistant species were found in living in the rivers, and were considered a doubtful food source.

Sewage, draining into riverbeds throughout the city, accounts for most of the water pollution, a problem the proposed overhaul of the Bahia de Panama plans to resolve.

Cleaning the bay will not do much to change the health of the rivers, however, if city dwellers’ attitides remain unchanged, said Jorge Rivas, a consultant for the Asociación para la Promoción de Nuevas Alternativas de Desarrollo.

The country’s rich water resources have been polluted by several generations of Panamanians, said Rivas, who have undervalued the isthmus’ more than 500 rivers, exploiting them for commercial purposes. When a river’s practical use ran dry, it was used as a dump.

The misuse of the Panama’s rivers is a problem of “ignorance and greed,” said urban planner and architect Álvaro Uribe. Other cities have cleaned up their rivers, he said, after realizing their aesthetic and recreational value.

“In Paris, the Seine River was a sewer and now it’s been restored for tourism,” he said, adding the same could be done for the Río Curundú, which runs through the neighborhood that shares its name.

Uribe recommended that authorities draw up laws protecting water resources and then enforce them.