Case study of the contamination of the river Choluteca Basin, Honduras”

Technische Universität Darmstadt : International Cooperation and Urban Development Urban Ecology seminar: prof. Adrian Atkinson

December 01, 2010

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“Urban pressure in ecological vulnerable resources: case study of the contamination of the river Choluteca Basin, Honduras”

by: Alessa Bennaton, MSc.

Abstract This paper intends to recollect and examine important studies concerning the contamination of the river Choluteca basin in order to establish a strategy for the recuperation of the river´s health which is currently severely damaged by the dump of complex pollutants in the course of its passage through the country´s capital and mostly populated urban settlements.

Keywords sustainability / ecological vulnerability / contamination / urban water

I. Introduction

Human activities have great influence in water systems and these are especially relevant in cities: highly complex concentrations of population and ways of life. Rapid growing urban settlements intensify the pressure in self cleaning processes in water cycles due to the amount of external agents introduced into the system, causing them to eventually break the circular sequence that guarantees their ecological equilibrium and making them collapse.

Water pollution is commonly found in cities with proximity and relation to water sources, this is a frequent dilemma in cities in Latin America, where urban centers grow rapidly and unpredictably, without effective response from the government in provision and management of public services, the Central District of Honduras in no exception.

Numerous successful experiences demonstrate the possibility of halting the process of degradation of urban water bodies by developing strategies that identify the main problematic and reinforcing instruments and procedures of control.

As a result of an examination of the current situation and the review of examples of recuperation of water sources in urban contexts, we propose a strategy for the recuperation of the river Choluteca basin according to its social and political circumstances.

II. Background

Comayagüela and Tegucigalpa compose the central district or Capital of the Central American country of Honduras with a collective population of 1.5 M people approximately. These cities share many characteristics such as geographical location, climatic conditions, urban configuration as well as ecological resources and challenges.

The river Choluteca constitutes the main physical division of the cities which are connected by a series of bridges along it. This river is currently under great environmental degradation due to severe modifications in its environmental landscape caused mainly by deforestation and contamination due to drainage of untreated waste into its waters, mostly from urban industries in its proximity, as well as informal settlements established alongside its riverbanks due to invasions of wetlands. This poses a threat on both the river and the people living around it and depending on its water for supply.

Figure 1. Division of the cities of

the Central District :

Comayagüela and Tegucigalpa

by the River Choluteca.

Elaborated by the author


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This river flows along an extension of 250 km through three departments: Francisco Morazán, El Paraíso and Choluteca. The population living all along the riverbanks is approximately 1.56 million inhabitants distributed: 30% in the rural area and 70% in the urban area, converting it into one of the most crowded riverbanks of the country (20% the population) justified in the fact that the river flows through the Central district (Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela).1

III. Importance of the River Choluteca Basin

The importance of this river resides in the fact that it is one of the longest flowing through the country and provides for different essential uses along its watercourse, essentially for agricultural purposes.

In the highest part, its water is used for cultivating fruits and vegetables to provide for the consumption in the capital and its surroundings. Also, it is one of the few in the country that pours into the Pacific Ocean, making its way through the southern lower parts of the country, where the land is substantially dry and its waters are used for irrigation of export agricultural produce such as: sugar cane, watermelon, melon and vegetables.

IV. Vulnerabilty of the Water Basin

Along the way through the central district, the river becomes highly polluted by the dumping of liquid and solid waste, increasing considerably the load of suspended elements and dropping the availability of oxygen by the increased toxic residues discharged. Thereby, reducing the growth of fauna and flora in it and around it, incrementing the risk of not being suitable for use downstream for agricultural purpose as well as animal caretaking and secondary uses by residents.

The parameters of the quality of the river are close to those of raw sewage in the dry season especially, high levels of fecal and other pathogens have increased significantly in the last years. The presence of toxic elements inhibits self-purification processes and there is a reduction of essential nutrients that secure its wellbeing.

According to studies conducted in 2002, sponsored by the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History and executed by the National Cartography Institute of Honduras, it is estimated that the river carries an average load of 100.23 tons of solid and toxic waste per day of which 70% comes from runoff from domestic uses, 27% due to solid waste and 3% for runoff. 2

V. Identifying the main problems

V.I Lack of sewerage coverage

30% of Tegucigalpa´s population is located in informal areas of the city, mainly in slums deprived of essential services.

Access to sewerage services in a survey carried out in 2008 only reached 70% of households, the rest of the population service themselves by channeling waste in small waters sheds of the Choluteca River, these are mostly sourced to inhabitants of the marginal areas where public service provision fails mainly due to steep topography, lack of economic resources and lack of

1 Aguilera Elvin G., November 2009 “Contaminación del Rio Choluteca, Honduras”

2 idem

Figure 3. Contamination of

the river and riverbanks

Photo: latribuna.hn

Figure 2. Melon production in

the north of the Central District.

Photo: latribuna.hn


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policies by the state. Few slums have sewers. The government justifies the deficiency in service adjudication in these neighborhoods by claiming illegality, as people who live there do not have a title to the land occupied and pay no property taxes.

V.II Lack of industrial effluent treatment

Most industries located on the banks of the river, discharge their dumps directly into the river without treatment. Although rules and regulations to control wastewater discharges exist, these are not implemented primarily due to political reasons and corruption in implementation procedures.

The current regulation, A 58-96: “¨Technical Standards for Wastewater Discharge into receiving bodies and Sewerage¨, states the minimum and maximum concentration levels for important parameters before being discharged to river. It also establishes that “its

implementation will be the responsibility of “the Secretariat of State

Office of Public Health, Secretary of State for the Environment and Secretary of State for

Interior and Justice.“3 However, the lack of vigilance on the part of these state agencies has led

companies to fail to employ treatment systems for wastewater cleansing.

According to a manual of New techniques for urban river rehabilitation, the problematic lies in the fact that “design of sustainable urban drainage facilities is not primarily a technical

problem but more of an institutional concern, basically the cooperation between different

departments in a city’s administration. City administration tends to follow well established

principles of clear responsibility boundaries. The nature of urban drainage normally requires

joint ownership and operation. This often necessitates interdepartmental cooperation in city

councils in areas were often no well established lines of communication and assignment of

responsibilities exist.”4

V.III Lack of efficient management of solid waste

Although solid waste pollution is fewer compared with the discharged runoff, the impact on social and environmental pollution is severe in this regard. In the Central District, in 1999, the collection coverage was 60%. The Capital is currently producing approximately 800 tons of waste per day of which only 700 tons (85%) are collected by municipal waste collection services; the rest is deposited in small local dumps in neighborhoods without access to the collection service, causing problems in obstruction of drainage, leachate, odor and direct dump into water sources that find its way into the river.

Another issue worth mentioning is the topography of the municipal garbage dump located a few miles south of the capital, with a rugged topography, it favors drainage runoff and drags debris directly into the river Choluteca, intensified during the rainy season.

V.IV Lack of integral management of the basin

The main problems faced by the Choluteca River Basin are related to land and water resource management, poor agricultural practices, agrochemical pollution, conflicts in the management of

3 Congreso Nacional de la República de Honduras ACUERDO N° 058 - 96 SECRETARIA DE SALUD PÚBLICA

Y EL PRESIDENTE CONSTITUCIONAL DE LA REPUBLICA “¨Technical Standards for Wastewater Discharge

into receiving bodies and Sewerage”

4 URBEM, October 2004 “New techniques for urban river rehabilitation WP(8) “

Figure 4. Contamination of

the river by industrial

untreated wastewater.

Photo: radioamerica.hn

Figure 5. Images of the

municipal garbage dump

Photo: latribuna.hn


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infiltration areas, forest fires and agricultural burning resulting in devastating consequences such as desertification, flooding and landslides.

VI. Examples of urban water recuperation strategies and initiatives

VI.I Recuperation of the river Senne in Brussels

“Since the 16th century and until late 2000, sewage from Brussels flowed entirely untreated into the river Senne, a tributary of the Scheldt. As the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-

Operation and Development) Environmental Performance Review for Belgium points out, water quality in the Senne downstream from Brussels is comparable to that of sewage” 5

It was in 1989 when the administration started approaching the problem and in 1994, a first sewage system initiated its construction with capacity to cover 30% of the inhabitants of the city. Due to sanctions imposed by the EU, Brussels was obliged to develop a second sewage treatment plant that was to be put into operation in 2005.

Reports from 2006, affirm the existence of remaining polluted spots of the river which were supposed to improve with the initiation of operation of the Aquiris water treatment plant built in March 2007 for a contract of 1 billion euros for 20 years operation, thought to have the capacity to purify all untreated waters and solve the controversial pollution problem once and for all.

The Aquiris was shut down in 2009 because of economical and political conflicts between the plant managers and municipal authorities, causing an ecological crisis and dumping the wastewater from 1.1 million people into three rivers leading to the Flanders region and the North Sea; it was only 10 days later that the plant was reopened but the scandal had serious repercussions on the reputation of the service providers and the country.

Today, the plant is functioning but has still has serious operational issues concerning remaining sludge treatment.

VI.II Rio Bogotá, Colombia

In 1906, the debate for the recuperation of the river was initiated but it was until 1979 that the World Bank - IBRD financed the construction of a pilot plant for a feasibility study for the treatment of wastewater. During the 1980 – 1996, studies and initiatives where evaluated.

In 1997, the construction of the first treatment plant PTAR Salitre was initiated and started operations in 2000.

In present times, the Colombian government has developed a mega project for the recuperation of the purification of the Rio Bogotá. Among the objectives of the program:

• Prevent the dumping of untreated wastewater, both urban water bodies and the Bogotá river directly.

• Ensure a minimum flow in the river, allowing the preservation of the ecosystem of the water body itself and its affluents.

5 Paul O'Brien, David Carey, Jens Høj and Andreas Woergoetter, june 2001 “ENCOURAGING

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN BELGIUM ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT WORKING PAPER

NO. 300”

Figure 6. water treatment plant

in the Senne River, Brussels

Photo: wikipedia.org

Figure 7. Jonathan taking a bath

in the riverbanks of the Bogotá

River Photo: elespectador.com


December 01, 2010

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• Ensuring the quality and volume of water required by all river users: agriculture, power generation, ecology, research, recreation, among others.

• Consolidate a real process of ecological recovery of river based on the amplification and optimization of the existent treatment plant and the construction of four more which are to be finished in 2015.

Amongst the parallel actions regarding the Mega Project for the recuperation of the River Bogotá we find: control of household dumping, industrial waste dump sanctions, solid waste disposal management , guaranteeing water supply for all without exclusions of any kind, fitting connections to the water networks, recuperating the river´s natural characteristics.

VII. Proposal: Action Plan for promoting the recuperation of the River

Choluteca Basin

Following, we will introduce a proposed sequential Action plan which we hope will contribute to channel initiatives towards the critical rehabilitation of the River Choluteca Basin. This action plan is envisioned to include the different stakeholders implicated in each step for it to have a successful outcome.

1. Governmental and Institutional acknowledgement of the problematic of present and further environmental degradation of the River Choluteca Basin and its devastating consequences on urban and rural environments along it.

2. Identifying main uses and sources of contamination along the river flow

3. Fortifying institutions and procedures for the implementation of existing regulatory systems and strengthening regulations where they lack the power to fully address the problems identified

4. Carrying out educational and awareness campaigns with the population, especially those inhabitants established along the riverbanks to reduce avoidable waste dump.

5. Implementation of local sewage alternatives such as ECOSAN, mobile toilets or others in informal settlements along the river as a temporary solution to diminish wastewater dump from these settlements.

6. A long term planned strategy for the recuperation of water banks for recreational purpose and public space provision including dispersion of industrial activity from the river proximity and the informal settlements which produce the worse dumping and are affected with river floods.

7. Linking parallel activities such as improvement of the solid waste collection service and optimizing the municipal dump site to avoid the current runoff generated by it.

These are preliminary activities but nonetheless of vital importance for approaching the River´s current problematic situation.


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VIII. Conclusions

The restoration of the Choluteca River is a priority to ensure the health of the people who live along the river downstream and its environmental recovery.

Lessons from the examples analyzed can be learned regarding the evaluation of implementation of large scale, centralized systems or autonomous, smaller scale, local solutions. Another necessary conclusion drawn from the evaluation of the examples presented is the need to envision for the management of all steps of the process of treatment. In the case of the Belgium treatment plant, the main impediment of well functioning was the lack of planning for the disposal of generated sludge after water treatment which resulted in its later shut down with highly disturbing consequences.

On the other hand, what we can learn from the Bogotá example is to avoid unnecessary and infinite planning processes that implicate a great number of external consultants and actors that latterly become an impediment for the making of decisions and the implementation of action.

Implicating the community and different stakeholders, especially those greatly affected by the current conditions of the Choluteca River, in the formulation of a strategy for its recuperation is essential to guarantee their latter contribution to proceeding of the process.

IX. References

• Aguilera Elvin G., November 2009 “Contaminación del Rio Choluteca, Honduras”

• Congreso Nacional de la República de Honduras ACUERDO N° 058 - 96 SECRETARIA DE SALUD PÚBLICA Y EL PRESIDENTE CONSTITUCIONAL DE LA REPUBLICA “¨Technical Standards for Wastewater Discharge into receiving bodies and Sewerage”

• DAMA, Departamento Técnico Administrativo del del Medio Ambiente August 2004 “Cronología del Programa de Descontaminación del río Bogotá”

• Paul O'Brien, David Carey, Jens Høj and Andreas Woergoetter, june 2001 “ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN BELGIUM

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT WORKING PAPER NO. 300”

• Portillo, Noé Pineda december-january 2002, “Estudio del Bajo Choluteca y llanura costera del Pacífico” Revista Cartográfica

• “Recuperación de Rio Bogotá: El Compromiso del Gobierno de la Ciudad”

• URBEM, October 2004 “New techniques for urban river rehabilitation WP(8) “

• On Aquiris Nord Bruxelles Waste Water Treatment Plant:

http://www.aquiris.be/en/environment.php

http://www.corporateeurope.org/water-justice/content/2010/02/aquiris-veolias-lost-bet-brussels

• Senne River Coverage

Case study of the contamination of the river Choluteca Basin, Honduras”

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