Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 17 OcTOber 2017

Raw sewage contaminating waters in Puerto Rico after Maria

ed toxic sites targeted for service sewage treatments
cleanup because of risks to plants include several that
human health and the en- sit upstream of drinking wa-
vironment — including the ter supplies.
former U.S. Navy bombing One of Puerto Rico’s big-
range on the island of Vi- gest treatment plants dis-
eques. charges into a river that
“I just wish we had more feeds Lake Carraizo, a res-
resources to deal with it,” ervoir that provides drink-
said Catherine McCabe, ing water for half of the
the EPA deputy regional metropolitan San Juan
administrator. area.
Puerto Rico has a long his- Several of the plant’s
tory of industrial pollution, pumping stations remain
and environmental prob- out of service due to lack
lems have worsened due of diesel for generators,
to neglect during a de- leaving sewage running
cade-long economic cri- into the lake.
sis. A dozen over-packed “We’re not going any-
landfills remain open de- where near it,” resident Ed-
spite EPA orders to close win Felix, 46, said, nodding
them because local gov- toward the greenish brown
ernments say they don’t river coursing past his hill-
In this Saturday, Oct. 14 2017 photo, people affected by Hurricane Maria bathe in water piped have the money. side home.
from a mountain creek, in Utuado, Puerto Rico. Raw sewage is pouring into the rivers and reservoirs With homes damaged That puts an extra strain
of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Ricans without running water are bathing or destroyed, power lines on the filtration plants that
and washing their clothes in contaminated streams. At least four people have died of diseases
caught from dirty water. obliterated and traffic cha- give a final treatment to
(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) otic, many of the EPA’s the water reaching the
By MICHAEL MELIA emergency that has no there are growing con- own island-based person- capital.
Associated Press clear end in sight. cerns about contamination nel were unable to report Officials say running wa-
CAGUAS, Puerto Rico (AP) “I think this will be the most and disease. for work immediately after ter has been restored to
— Raw sewage is pouring challenging environmental “People in the U.S. can’t the hurricane tore across 72 percent of the island’s
into the rivers and reservoirs response after a hurricane comprehend the scale the island on Sept. 20. people.
of Puerto Rico in the after- that our country has ever and scope of what’s need- Twelve days after Maria The water authority says
math of Hurricane Maria. seen,” said Judith Enck, ed,” said Drew Koslow, an made landfall, the EPA said it’s safe to drink, though
People without running wa- who served as administra- ecologist with the non- it had 45 people in Puerto the health department still
ter bathe and wash their tor of the U.S. Environmental profit Ridge to Reefs who Rico. By Sunday that num- recommends boiling or dis-
clothes in contaminated Protection Agency region recently spent a week in ber stood at 85 — a force infecting it.
streams, and some island- that includes Puerto Rico Puerto Rico working with a that Enck said was still insuf- In the town of Juncos on
ers have been drinking wa- under President Barack portable water purification ficient. Thursday, EPA personnel
ter from condemned wells. Obama. system. Less than 20 percent of the warned people who were
Nearly a month after the With hundreds of thousands EPA officials said that of island’s power grid was swimming in a river by an
hurricane made landfall, of people still without run- last week they still had not back online, and while overflowing manhole that
Puerto Rico is only begin- ning water, and 20 of the been unable to inspect five hundreds of large genera- it was contaminated by
ning to come to grips with island’s 51 sewage treat- of the island’s 18 Superfund tors have been brought in, sewage because a pump-
a massive environmental ment plants out of service, sites — highly contaminat- the U.S. territory’s out-of- ing station had failed, said
Jaime Geliga, chief of the
Mexico’s attorney general resigns a year into job agency’s local municipal
water program branch.
“That’s the only water they
By CHRIS SHERMAN ate that his resignation was with a more independent That alarmed opposition get,” he said. “That’s the
Associated Press effective immediately and chief prosecutor whose politicians and non-gov- difficult part.”
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexi- urged Congress to quickly new nine-year term would ernmental organizations, Even the island’s own wa-
co’s Attorney General Raul approve “the urgent laws make the office less vulner- who argued that Cer- ter authority has distributed
Cervantes resigned Mon- that the country needs,” able to pressure from presi- vantes was an ally of Presi- water from some wells at
day, saying that he no lon- which have been stalled dents, who serve six years. dent Enrique Pena Nieto the Dorado Superfund site,
ger wants to be a distrac- for months. The initial legislation to en- and might ensure that his according to Gov. Ricardo
tion to passage of a law Mexico recently approved act that change would administration was not in- Rossello, who said that wa-
that would make the agen- constitutional reforms have transformed the ex- vestigated for any wrong- ter has been tested and
cy more independent. Cer- meant to replace the At- isting attorney general into doing after leaving office complies with all federal
vantes told Mexico’s Sen- torney General’s Office the new chief prosecutor. next year.q health standards. q