Water pollution adds to Peruvians’ financial hardship amid demands for action

Lima/Peru – Water pollution in Lima, Peru, has become a major issue for the city population, as they suffer from the high prices of drinking water due to the high cost of purifying polluted water.

Water resources in Lima, a water project coordinator said, are contaminated because waste management companies tend to use them as dumping areas, increasing the cost of water treatment.

Gabriela Vásquez, an environmental expert, explained that tourists are main polluters of rivers and seas, adding that mining and industrial activities also impact water resources.

“We have seen that mining causes mainly deforestation because they use areas and they cause deforestation and this results in damage to rivers as well,” Vásquez added.

“In a report from the national water authority in 2012, it was indicated that it[purification costs] went from 0.19 soles ($0.050) per cubic meter to 0.39 soles ($0.10) per cubic meter, so this is reflected in all the supplies that have to be used to be able to make that water drinkable; Pamela Ramos, project coordinator for the Lima and Callao Water Fund said.

Peruvians demanded that the government take action to stop the pollution of water resources, urging schools and families to educate children and help spread awareness about keeping the environment clean.

“In this country, specifically, and because of the issue of people’s lack of education, I believe that the government should take a series of sanctions
against people, and greater control. Control is the only thing that could reduce the subject to almost zero on this issue because we have had several examples in which the State has intervened self-interestedly and it has worked,” Iván Pestana, an architect, said.