Tuesday, September 20th, 2011, Itxel and I got the privilege to go on another field trip with the sanitation engineer Juan Candia Cuno. This time, we got to visit different regions of Huacho (the city where we are living) - but not the touristy version.
Our first stop was the port. This is a pretty busy area (and not very safe), as there are many commercial and local fishers. Since we were there in the afternoon, we got to see some of the local fisherman pulling their boats out of the water.
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| Typical afternoon at the port in Huacho |
We walked out to the point (and through the unofficial city dump) to the point where the majority of waste water is dumped directly into the ocean.
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| An EMAPA manhole and garbage along the coast |
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| Contaminated water spewing into the Pacific Ocean |
One of the possible 'improvements' to the current situation includes extending this pipe almost 1km under water so that the waste water can be injected deeper into the ocean and hopefully reduce contamination to the fish and seafood living near shore. There are many factors to consider with this option, however, including the corrosion that would occur both inside the pipe (with the used water) and outside the pipe (upon contact with salt water). So it is an option that EMAPA is looking into, but the preferable solution is to build a waste water treatment plant. Unlike in Sayán, the water being discarded into the ocean in Huacho is composed not only of household waste but also of commercial and industrial waste water (which are much more polluting). Looks like I won't be swimming off the beach in Huacho anytime soon.
Our next stop was another part of Huacho (called Carquín), just north of the city. This part is much poorer. There is a second pipe here that dumps waster water straight into the ocean. Unfortunately, there are also households, livestock, and even a school close to the spot where the pipe dumps the untreated water.
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| The area where the waste water dumps into the Pacific Ocean in Carquín |
After being introduced to the reality that is waste water management in Huacho, we continued a bit further to the site of the future waste water treatment plant (if all of the plans go through, that is). The site is a 127 hectare ecological reserve located just north of Huacho, right next to the River Huaura. Juan and I hiked through tall bushes to get onto a dyke and get a better look of the area. The plans to build the plant are still in their preliminary phases, but over the next 8 months I will be helping them complete the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that is required for the project.
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| The area for the proposed waste water treatment plant |
There are already quite a few risks associated with the project: we are in a zone with high seismic activity, and the plant would be located at (or near) sea level, only a few hundred metres (or perhaps one or two kilometres) away from the Pacific Ocean. Juan is aware of the risks, but there are factors such as the sight and smell of the proposed plant, the cost of the land, its location with respect to the current waste water infrastructure (everything relies on gravity, so it needs to be located downhill from the majority of the current pipes), etc. They will try to build a facility to take into consideration some of these risks to prevent contaminating groundwater and the surrounding area in the event of a natural disaster, but nothing is for sure. All in all, a very educational and eye-opening afternoon. I'm not sure how much help I will be able to bring during my eight months here, but I am sure that I will learn a lot and gain a new appreciation for what I have back at home in Ottawa.
Until next time, have a great week!
Sheila
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