As happens every summer, one of the most famous and tourist sites in San Bernardino, Lake Ypacaraí, is once again the focus of criticism and complaints from visitors and locals, with images appearing where a strong green color is observed in the shores and a large part of the water channel. According to the professionals, although it appears to be in conditions of extreme contamination, it really does not represent a greater danger.
The Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (Mades) reported that despite not being suitable for bathers, it is not toxic to the integrity and health of people. The outstanding greenish coloration that can be observed would be a consequence of the blooming of green algae, which are reflected like a mirror in the waters of the site, and could be eradicated through a sanitary sewer system that would largely avoid these levels of contamination.
PROBLEMS
In conversation with the engineer Juan José Barrail, president of the Milenio Foundation, he expressed that there are several characteristics and factors in the environment that can determine the appearance of this problem and one of them is linked to temperature. The extreme heat peaks that are experienced these days could be major causes of the event, as well as the situation of the sewage effluent treatment plant in the area.
«It would be necessary to see how the Essap Treatment Plant is, sometimes it has problems with sewage effluents; If the discharge from the sewage network to the lake is carried out directly, this obviously produces a negative effect. This is a cyclical issue, but the most urgent thing to solve is the situation of the effluents that impact the lake basin and it is a long-standing story,” the professional asserted.
MAINTENANCE
Lake Ypacaraí has been in the process of recovering its waters for years, after having tested positive for cyanobacteria, a situation that was reversed with maintenance from time to time, but the green color of the last few days once again aroused concern. Although experts reaffirm that the lake does not currently have this bacterium, they continue to recommend not entering its waters.
From the Commission for the Preservation, Recomposition and Sustainable Use of Lake Ypacaraí (Conalaypa), they stated that there is always concern about a possible reappearance due to the blooms of these cyanobacteria that occur in the high summer season and due to the large amount of nutrients that the lake presents, so cleaning and maintenance work is important.
“For some years, work has been carried out to maintain a certain level through the geobags that were located on the salt lake, and these helped a lot to the conditions of the site. Here, the most important thing is that the Plant works and that it can be monitored that it has not directly discharged large volumes of sewage into the lake”, he emphasized.
Beyond the Commission formed, there are several institutions and actors that have responsibility for the care that the lake deserves, and it goes from Mades itself to the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC), the Paraguayan Sanitary Services Company ( Essap) and the citizens themselves, who must ensure compliance with all these tasks of cleaning and preserving the natural heritage.
