March 3, 2023, 4:00 AM
March 3, 2023, 4:00 AM
After a report of the Government of Santa Cruz will show a level of contamination of 95% due to faeces in Aguas Calientes, from that same instance an action plan was requested from the municipality of Roboré to curb water contamination.
The director of the Departmental Service for Environmental Quality, María Julia Parada, recalled that a few months ago an environmental quality study was carried out in the basin of this river, and due to its complexity, the results were only known a few days ago. These were sent to Roboré, together with a technical report, in which the commune is requested to generate an action plan in the face of the anomalies that produced the results.
“It is important to clarify to the population that, through a report in which the results of quality monitoring in the Aguas Calientes Basin were presented, it was reported that of the 13 parameters that were evaluated, two were found to be outside the norm, and For this reason, the Municipality was asked for an action plan in the area, to adapt it according to the norm”, Parada stated, adding that a period of 30 business days has been given to present this plan.
The Aguas Calientes river basin is classified as class C, which means that it is water for recreational use. In these days, a new commission will go to the community of Aguas Calientes, located 35 kilometers from Roboré, to socialize the technical report made by the departmental authorities.
Eight months ago, a team of technicians from the Santa Cruz Governor’s Office took water samples, He flew over the area with a drone and took multi-parameter measurements to submit them for analysis.
At that time, according to Parada, there were previous meetings with the local authorities and both the authorities and the community members accompanied the inspection. Parada said the center’s legal advisor showed a predisposition while the necessary information was gathered.
The official of the Environment Unit of the Mayor’s Office of Roboré, Sergio Flores, advanced a few days ago the existence of water contamination with wastewater, and that 95% is due to feces.
“This is worrisome for us,” Flores asserted, saying that from the commune they were looking at the alternatives and solutions that can be executed, in coordination with the people who live and work in one of the busiest tourist attractions in Chiquitania.
“People will not come to the place to bathe because of the contamination. In addition, they have given us a period of 30 business days to present an action plan,” Flores explained.
Some councilors referred to the report presented by the Santa Cruz Governor’s Office. Pedro Mejia believes that a law should be drafted for the closure and sealing, for three months, of all septic chambers that there are in the private properties and tourist places that are on the shore of the river of Aguas Calientes. This with the aim of seeing if the 95% contamination that these waters have is due to septic tanks, the waste that exists, or if they are due to the river itself.
“We are concerned about this issue because it will not only affect Aguas Calientes, but the entire municipality of Roboré,” said the councilor.
Regarding those who administer the tourist centers in Aguas Calientes, Mejía indicated that neither in this nor in the previous municipal management did they allow the Mayor’s Office to enter to administer and regulate these tourist sites.
“Also We wanted to hold a popular consultation so that people can pay their taxes, but they have not allowed it either. They claim to be autonomous and have their Tourism Committee, but with this it seems that what they generate financially is for them, ”he alluded to.
For her part, Councilwoman Isabel Maldonado recalled that last week these studies were presented to the inhabitants of Aguas Calientes, who they were upset and indicated that the report was not from the Government, rather, it had been prepared by the commune of Roboré.
“We told them to form a commission and go to the Governor’s Office to explain why this contamination is a crime,” said the councilor, adding that they are working with an NGO to analyze all this problem.
Meanwhile, the president of the Council of this population, Joel Contreras, when asked what the legislature will do in the face of contamination, responded briefly, “we hope that the Government will send us the report.”
The deputy governor of the Chiquitos province, Alejandro Quezada, said that he will wait for the report from the Governor to see the actions to be taken. “In these days the corresponding studies will be released and, although there are news that are circulating on social networks, We are going to be responsible as the Government in issuing a technical criterion next week,” said the authority.
