Received from the Zuma Press agency this portfolio by Igor Wagner entitled ‘TOXIC WATERS: Argentina’s Rotten River’ about an Argentine river polluted beyond all limits. Here it is with the accompanying text.
Very few locals call it water. This is Riachuelo de la Matanza in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. The 40-mile river served as the capital’s dumping ground for more than 100 years, mid-19th century chroniclers described it as “rotten” and has long been considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Thousands of businesses, such as tanneries, chemical plants and factories, are situated in the basin, while an estimated 4.5 million people call the area home. Sewers, household waste, old cars and boats, virtually anything fit for a dump went into the river. The result is an environmental and health crisis spanning generations. Residents and campaigners now fear a new ruling on the toxic Matanza-Riachuelo basin will send a message that environmental protection is not a priority. Welcome to ‘TOXIC WATERS: Argentina’s Rotten River’
The 40-mile (64km) river served as the capital’s dumping ground for more than 100 years, mid-19th century chroniclers described it as “rotten” and has long been considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Thousands of businesses, such as tanneries, chemical plants and factories, are situated in the basin, while an estimated 4.5 million people call the area home.
Residents who live along the river and campaigners fear a new ruling on the toxic Matanza-Riachuelo basin will worsen the region’s many health crises and sends the message that environmental damage is not a priority.
Fifteen years after the Supreme Court ruled the government must clean the polluted basin, Argentina was finally hitting its stride. A new administration may change that.
A foul liquid gushing from a storm drain bubbles and foams several meters below as it cracks the film on the surface of the river. The color resembles sewage more closely than it does water.
So does the smell.
“That should be rainwater, but it’s not actually rainwater because people used to illegally intervene and connect their sewer to the storm drains,” cultural guide Lucia de los Rios said through an interpreter. She gripped the railing of the government-operated educational tour boat as it hopped over a swell. In the boat’s wake: plastic bottles and bags, styrofoam, and ripped pieces of construction site tarp. All were swirling together in the odorous, gray-brown liquid flowing through the river channel.
Very few locals call it water.
Excerpt from the story by Jacob Boyko/Pultzercenter.org via ZUMA Press Wire
