BRIEFS. Environment

IDAAN official promotes clean-up of rivers

LA PRENSA

dirty water: Idaan’s director says the country’s rivers need to be cleaned up.1095997

John A. Ducruet, director of the Instituto de Acueductos y

Alcantarillados Nacionales (Idaan), on Friday expressed his concern over the condition of rivers across the country, saying “they have become real sewers.”

Ducruet made his remarks at a forum conducted by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute entitled “Mes de los Océanos.”

He provided an update on the government's efforts to reduce the flow of sewage into the Bahía de Panama, saying that project is a key step toward improving the country's other waterways.

Ducruet admitted that the major problem impacting the country's rivers is untreated sewage from Idaan being emptied into them. In addition to damaging the river's ecosystems, disposing of sewage in this manner also increases the likelihood of disease outbreaks and drinking water contamination.

“I see children playing in puddles of sewage that form in the streets when the rivers overflow,” Ducruet said.

The director said the project to clean up the Bay of Panama is about 45 percent complete. It began with the installation of a sewage system for the 35,000 residents of San Miguelito and is now addressing the needs of the residents of Tocumen.

The major portion of the project will be the construction of a treatment plant and a tunnel under the city that will conduct the sewage to it.

“These two phases are already in the bidding phase, and construction is expected to begin next year,” Ducruet said.