On the banks of a sewage dam in central Mexico, beneath a dense cloud of mosquitoes, Yury Uribe finally finds hope after decades in “environmental hell.”
The 43-year-old lives next to the Endho Dam, sometimes described as Mexico’s “toilet bowl.” It carries wastewater from some 22 million people into the capital, as well as water from a thermoelectric power plant, a refinery and other industries in the area.
Corpses have even been found in the murky waters of the reservoir.
Twenty years ago, Uribe and fellow residents of the town of Tepetitlan launched a campaign to repair the dam. The water pollutes drinking water sources and the community blames the dam for cancer and other diseases.
Their efforts are just weeks away from bearing fruit, with the government set to issue a decree to restore Endho and the surrounding reservoir.
“We hope that the day will come when the soil recovers and that not everything we touch is dead,” Uribe, a seamstress from the city, told AFP.
She is a co-founder of the Social Movement for the Earth, which was established in 2004 to draw attention to the disaster that affected an area of almost 25,000 hectares (about 61,780 acres) and was described by the government in 2019 as an “ecological hell”.
These are areas that “have been sacrificed so that Mexico City can function properly.” Wastewater and excess rainfall are dumped here, some 70 miles away, to prevent flooding, Uribe said.
– ‘There is no life’ –
The community has been fighting a long struggle.
After repeatedly occupying the offices of the Ministry of the Environment and the National Water Commission (Conagua) in recent years, they ordered the government to conduct an environmental study in June.
The government is preparing to issue a decree next month to “repair” the dam by reducing wastewater discharges and improving water treatment.
This is probably the first step in a long process.
The dam’s reservoir is surrounded by trees and fields that are sometimes reflected in the water’s surface. This provides an idyllic picture, but in the water “there is no life”, according to one resident.
When AFP visited, a human body was floating among the lilies and garbage. According to locals, it was the third body found in a month.
The stench is the least of the problems. In Tepetitlan, the conversation always revolves around cancer.
It is clear to the residents that pollution is the cause.
“It’s because of what we eat, what we breathe and the environment,” said Irma Gonzalez, a 47-year-old breast cancer patient.
“Many of us already have cancer,” added her neighbor Blanca Santos (64), who also has affected her lungs.
Research by Conagua shows that the water from the wells near the dam is not suitable for consumption due to high concentrations of heavy metals, such as arsenic and mercury.
These pollutants come from industries that discharge their water into the Tula River and other tributaries that flow into the reservoir.
– ‘Chromosomal abnormalities’ –
Authorities have promised to investigate a possible link between pollution and disease.
Oncologist Eduardo Amieva told AFP that heavy metals “can accumulate in organs” such as the kidneys, liver, skin or bladder.
This in turn can lead to “chromosomal abnormalities and ultimately cancer,” he said.
Farms in the Mezquital Valley have long used water from the dam to irrigate their crops.
Products from that region, such as corn, chili, beans and alfalfa, are sold in Mexico City and other states of the country.
“This water has brought us benefits,” but also “harm,” said Victor Angeles, a corn farmer whose family includes several cancer patients.
Government regulations allow tall crops such as corn to be irrigated with wastewater, but not crops in direct contact with the land, said Edith Garcia, a water management specialist.
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