Many of us will remember, as if it were yesterday, the pungent smell that invaded the air during the dry season. It was the smell of decaying coffee pulp, emanating from polluted rivers. The wind brought us the bittersweet aroma, whether we liked it or not. It reminded us that we had rivers nearby. Polluted rivers that should be kept far away.
Today, our younger children would not recognize that smell. What’s more, probably with disgust, they would demand an explanation for our blushing response: “My darling, it’s that some people who produce coffee throw the waste into the river and, at the same time, poison it.” For about 15 years, those of us who live far from rivers have benefited from legislation and controls that have produced summer months without the smell of coffee pulp.
However, our rivers are still polluted as a result of the waste we produce in our homes, kitchens and toilets. Those of us who can turn away from the filth have built walls and distanced ourselves. By doing that we do not see, or smell, that disgusting reality. And, obviously, we forget about those who cannot build walls and receive the floods of the river with all the excrement, used sanitary napkins and unidentified soggy waste.
Lack of transparency
Historical data show that, in 2007, sewerage coverage with wastewater treatment reached less than 4% of the Costa Rican population. Faced with this situation, the Drinking Water and Sanitation Program (known in Spanish as PAPS) was initiated, with the purpose of collecting, disposing of and adequately treating wastewater generated in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) and some rural areas. The cost of PAPS was then estimated at $320.1 million and received international funding of $243 million. The Costa Rican State had to make the difference.
The project’s financial closure report indicates that, as of July 2024, its original scope had not been completed, but that the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewerage (known in Spanish as AyA) was committed to guaranteeing its continuity and completion. Surprisingly, on November 27, AyA’s board of directors decided to close the PAPS Executing Unit. According to Delfino.cr, the progress of the work in the GAM is 80% and the cost to complete the works was estimated at $261 million.
When trying to understand the origin of this amount, by consulting the AyA website, it is seen that the last progress report available corresponds to the month of October 2020. Therefore, it is impossible to verify this information in relation to the progress of the project. This lack of transparency on the part of AyA contrasts with the importance of the work. It is estimated that the project would have provided sanitary sewerage coverage and treatment to approximately half a million people in the Grande de Tárcoles river basin, among other benefits, such as reducing the pollution of the rivers of the GAM, favoring biodiversity, increasing the value of properties adjacent to the rivers, reducing bad odors and improving the quality of coastal waters, public health and landscape.
A single living being
The distance we have installed between us and the rivers is playing a very bad trick on us. That distance prevents us from recognizing the value of recovering them. Generating awareness of the communities benefited by a project such as PAPS is necessary so that people understand the advantages of having cleaner rivers near their homes. Moreover, this awareness is listed as an objective of the project. However, the only information available online about the project is a pamphlet full of figures that serves more to inform an engineer than to summon a member of the community.
It would be worthwhile to conduct a survey to assess how many beneficiaries know about the project. It is highly likely that there are very few. It would have been very valuable, in addition, to publicize the work carried out by some organizations for the improvement of river basins, planting trees and collecting solid waste that has accumulated, among other activities. An invaluable opportunity has been lost to raise awareness among the population, which should react to the lack of adequate treatment of their domestic wastewater.
There are many success stories of cities or regions that have managed to improve the water quality of their rivers. In Buenos Aires, Paris and London, some land that is located in front of these watercourses offers opportunities for recreation and commercial development. It also offer a more balanced life, with the possibility of enjoying the landscape and living close to plants and animals.
The emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations: “Conceive the world as a living being, containing a single substance and a single soul.” Many centuries before the concept of sustainability emerged, Marcus Aurelius alerted us to the need to live harmoniously with nature and to feel, with all the senses, our environment. This idea, which was formulated in the second century of our era, seems even more pertinent and necessary in our day.