How nature-based wetland treatment plants can help solve Mexico's sewage disposal problems
Hidden away in rural Mexico are majestic waterfalls, meandering rivers and sparkling lakes. These are the pride of local people and their favorite places to go for a carne asada on a Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the water in many of these streams and lagoons is contaminated and every rancher or campesino picnicking nearby laments the fact that they are being polluted by aguas negras pouring into them from the nearest town. When you suggest they build a sewage treatment plant, they almost always give you the same reply: “We already have a planta de tratamiento , sí señor! The government built one for us 10 years ago, but sad to say, it's no longer in operation. The building is over there at the edge of town, locked up and abandoned.” Building a plant, I learned, is one thing and maintaining it is quite another. A small community cannot afford the high operating costs and even less the salary of an expert to run the place. Having heard this same story again and again, ...