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Sewage in the South-East Pacific

The population increase in the coastal areas due to high existing population growth rate and the continuous migration from rural areas to the outskirts of the main cities, together with a growing shortage of water resources programmes for the provision of water and sewerage services, given the clandestine increase in untreated domestic sewage, have all had effects on public health and on the deterioration of the coastal areas of the main cities of the countries of the South-East Pacific.

In Colombia, polluted beaches are mainly to be found in the areas of Tumaco and Buenaventura. In Tumaco the following beaches [were] reported to be polluted [in February 1997]: El Morro and Boca Grande, and the beaches of the inner Bay of Buenaventura, the area of Juanchaco, Ladrilleros, La Bocana, Punta Soldado and Inner Cienagas, Isla Costera, the Dagua River mouth, El Centro and Pueblo Nuevo, among others.

At the same time the Tumaco area has problems with dumps of shavings and sawdust in the mangrove plantations, carried out in order to harvest shrimp, and this causes serious damage to the mangrove ecosystem. On the other hand, some areas of the Tumaco coast are showing signs of eutrophication, which endangers aquatic marine life.

In Chile, marine pollution along the coast is associated with the topographic configuration and the diverse industrial activity generating liquid and solid wastes which are discharged directly into the sea with very little treatment, causing grave damage to the quality of the aquatic environment and affecting marine resources and human health. The area in the north is seriously affected by the mining and fisheries industry, by the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in bivalve molluscs and by the increase of organic matter and problems of eutrophication in the coastal area. In the central area, wastes originating from agriculture and domestic sewage are endangering human health through the pollution of fish and shellfish. Finally the south central area [was] considered to be the one most polluted by the high population density and by extensive and diversified industrial activities [in 1996].

In Ecuador, the Guayaquil Gulf is the main body of water of the continental coast that receives approximately three quarters of the volume of discharge and load of pollution from domestic and industrial wastes, causing serious deterioration of its coastal area. [As reported in 1997] shrimping activity is one of the causes of the degradation of the coastal marine environment, with four categories of impact: pressure on all phases of the biological cycle of the shrimp, deterioration of the quality of estuaries because of the destruction of mangrove plantations, pressure on other fishery resources and the loss of habitats through the elimination of shellfish and conunercial fish.

Other areas affected by municipal sewage are Machala, Puerto Viejo, Esmeralda, Manta, Salinas, Duran, Sucre and Santa Elena. The pollution load has increased rapidly by some 72% in the last eight years [it was reported in 1995], which shows that there is a lack of proportion in the search for options to address the problems.

In Panama, the area with the greatest sanitation risk and with severe pollution is the Bay of Panama, and the critical points of environmental degradation are located in the Matasnillo River, Club Union, the Club de Yates inside and outside the harbour.

In Peru, the main shore areas causing greater hazards to human health and to ecosystems, because of pollution from sewage, are Paita, Chimbote, Callao and Pisco; also in Ilo, because of pollution from heavy metals, which produces a bioaccumulation of metal traces especially in bivalve molluscs. For the past 10 years, DIGESA, in coordination with the regional health departments, has been carrying out a monitoring programme in the beach areas of the cities of Lima and Callao, in which the microbiological quality of the beach water is assessed on a weekly basis, in order to advise the local population regarding the category of water for bathing. In 1996, [some] 75% of the 69 beaches monitored were found to be in at least satisfactory sanitary condition (microbiological quality). At the same time, these assessments have helped the local authorities administering beach areas to take action directed at protecting the public health of holiday-makers. Besides, there is an existing programme for monitoring levels and effects of pollution directed by IMARPE in selected areas along the Peruvian coast, which identifies the level of pollution present in the sea, such as metal traces, petroleum hydrocarbons and the microbiological quality, evaluating the effects of pollution on the marine community that inhabit these areas.

Source: SEP169:11-12 (reformatted for Web)