Drainage pipes contaminate the Candelaria River; residents demand action to stop the damage

The contamination of the Candelaria River continues without authorities implementing actions to stop the damage to the waterway, despite the creation of the Ecology and Environment department in this municipal administration. Residents of the municipal head complained that nothing has been done to solve this problem that threatens one of the cleanest rivers.

CANDELARIA, CAMPECHE.- After the civil association “Candelaria en Marcha” signed a collaboration agreement with the association “Citizens in Movement for the Rescue and Conservation of the Mayan Rivers in the Southern Border”, residents such as Andrés Flores, Pablo Santos, and Felipe Caballero joined this initiative.

They revealed that all drains and natural outlets end up in the water of the river, a situation that has been present since the founding of this town. Throughout the Malecón, seven drains and a natural outlet were counted that go directly to the river, so one of the main drains that run through the city center, where waste from businesses in the First Square is discharged, is connected to the Candelaria River.

Likewise, the rest of the drains serve for the drainage of rainwater, and some citizens connect their discharges to the public drainage, generating greater contamination to the river.

They accused the municipal authorities who know about the situation of doing nothing because there is no emergency plan to counteract this situation. Therefore, they pointed out that several governments have passed that have not dealt with the rescue of this river. They commented that “it is time for the people and the government to join forces to declare the Candelaria River a Protected Natural Area”.

They considered that protected natural areas are places that preserve natural environments that are representative of biogeographic and ecological regions, as well as ecosystems, to ensure the balance and continuity of evolutionary ecological processes and conservation and use, which will contribute to the rescue of this river that runs more than 400 kilometers to its mouth in the Lagunas de Términos and is dirty due to the contamination it is subject to.

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