environment

Toxins choke waterways

Pollution threatens Coclé’s crucial water reserves, such as the Río Grande.

A recent fuel spill killed hundreds of animals and raised questions about the quality of the water.

LA PRENSA

poisoned: Environmentalists blame sewage leaks, agricultural and industrial waste and erosion for a severe decline in the quality of the province of Coclé’s water supply.1085688

Debris and sewage winding up in waterways in the province of Coclé have led to a steady decline in water quality, according to studies conducted by the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam) over the last six years.

Juan Jaén, who monitors the Coclé watershed for Anam, said that land degradation and loss of forest cover make up the chief threats to the area’s water resources. Urban development, farming and industrial waste have also caused severe deterioration in many of the province’s creeks and rivers.

Pollution of the area’s main bodies of water has increased so much in recent years that its effects are felt not only in the city but also among rural populations, reported environmentalist Simon Martínez. Martínez pointed to the garbage crisis that has plagued Penonomé, Coclé’s largest city, since local landfills reached capacity earlier this year.

Ceferino Castrellón, president of the Red de Grupos Agroambientalistas of Coclé, explained that, in addition to logging and erosion, the widespread use of agrochemicals and other chemical pollutants poses an ongoing threat to the water supply, including the Guacamaya water reserve and Rio Grande Basin, both of which are supplied by the murky Río Zaratí that passes through Penonomé.

As water quality becomes an increasingly urgent concern for area residents, authorities have taken a more casual approach to the problem, said Castrellón, who criticized several agencies for lenient enforcement of environmental laws and a lack of foresight.

This year, Anam’s regional office in Coclé have received six complaints about pollution in rivers and creeks. The latest incident involved a fuel spill in a creek that empties into the Río La Estancia in Juan Díaz de Antón. Anam officials opened an investigation into the case after reports that hundreds of animals had died as a result.

Anam regional director Jorge Carrera said that most complaints concern sewage from housing projects in the region being discharged into waterways.