Investigation detects spills of sewage to the Bacalar lagoon

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Photo: Juan Manuel Valdivia (Agua Clara por Bacalar AC)
It was determined that two points of the lagoon have E.Coli

After the rains of the weekend and after several citizen complaints about the overflow of sewage into the Bacalar lagoon, the civil association Agua Clara Ciudadanos por Bacalar AC determined that at least two points of this lagoon present strong contamination that does not make the water suitable for recreational use due to the presence of E.Coli.

Through its official Facebook page, Agua Clara specified that after the rain this weekend that caused the overflow of sewage into the lagoon, the water quality was sampled in seven main points: North 1 and 2, center 1, 2; and 3, and south 1 and 2.

Bacalar Lagoon (Photo: La Jornada Maya)

The results of this sampling reveal strong contamination, mainly in the two points of the center that is close to the fort, which resulted, in the case of center 2, in amounts of E.Coli greater than 20 thousand, when the acceptable parameter is up to 200 to be considered suitable for recreational use and waters with satisfactory quality for aquatic life. Center 3 had 1,366.67 from E.Coli.

“At this time the water quality in these sites is not suitable for recreational use, that is, not swimming,” environmentalists ask on social networks, although they clarify that the color of the lagoon has nothing to do with the presence of E.Coli (the water can look clear, but it is still contaminated).

Bacalar Lagoon (Photo: TripAdvisor)

“The presence of E.Coli can decrease rapidly if the sources of contamination are stopped. In the next few days, monitoring will continue to ensure that the presence is within the permissible limit for recreational use, ”says Agua Clara.

Until the most recent monitoring, on February 2, the levels had been acceptable at all monitoring points and the highest figure had been recorded in Central zone 1.

Bacalar Lagoon monitoring points (Image: Agua Clara Ciudadanos por Bacalar AC)

The environmental organization limits that just one week after the monthly water quality monitoring, where the results were acceptable for the seven sampling sites, the lagoon once again suffers the entry of pollutants by one of the most repeated and well-known sources of affectation, by the people of Bacalar: the lack of adequate sanitary and pluvial drainage, overflowing drains and the runoff derived from the presence of rain.

Source: La Jornada Maya

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