CONTAMINATION ALERT in Puerto Vallarta

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The rupture of a sewage collector contaminated the beaches, for which the Secretary of Health of Jalisco asked not to use the beaches or consume shellfish or raw fish.

Authorities decreed sanitary and environmental warning in the municipality of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco , after the rupture of the Central-North collector, which affected the protected natural area of ​​the El Salado estuary and the beaches from Marina Vallarta to the Pitillal River.

The pipe of the collector system broke last Sunday in the colony Las Mojoneras, near the Port Convention Center.

The Secretary of Health of the State of Jalisco, Fernando Petersen Aranguren, suggested not using the beaches and called for tourists and residents not to consume raw seafood and fish, as it is contaminated.

“If there are bacteria. We do not recommend the use of the beach from a health point of view. The civil authority is the only one that has the capacity to make the decision to close it or not “to the public,” he said.

He informed that according to the Secretariat of Integrated Water Management, there is no black water leakage, but evaporation remains. The recovery and rehabilitation works could be extended for several weeks.

“It was an important quantity that drained over the estuary and has already reached the sea,” said Aranguren.

He admitted that on the eve of the Easter and Easter holidays , it  is important that people know that there are health problems in that area at the moment.

The SEAPAL Puerto Vallarta Water and Sewer Services continues to repair the collector.

“Work is underway on the construction of specific pieces that will be installed to reinforce the structure of the 48-inch tube,” the agency said.

Petersen Aranguren indicated that through the Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks of the State (COPRISJAL) they take samples every day.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Puerto Vallarta, Arturo Dávalos , explained that in the area of ​​affectation there is presence of elements of Civil Protection to inform citizens and visitors about the contingency and the importance of attending recommendations. “It seeks to prevent possible damage to health,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Trust for the Protection of Estero El Salado, said that they are already placed airadores that inject oxygen into the estuary, in order to conserve the life of the living organisms that live there. For now, discarded dead fish and crocodiles.

On the other hand, the secretary of Tourism of the State, Germán Ralis Cumplido , said that the affectation did not reach the beaches when the stream El Salado empties into the sea and precisely at the height of Marina Vallarta.

“I’m not minimizing it. The technical information that I have so far from the Ministry of Environment is that corrective actions have been taken on the issue of containment of pollutants, “justified Ralis.

The beaches are monitored every hour, after the problem so that there is no greater damage.

“With the samples we will know when the water will once again be clean of bacteria,” Petersen said.

Source: Milenio

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