SENARA, Council Seek Urgent Water Measures

SENARA, Council Seek Urgent Water Measures
By Zoraida Diaz of The Beach Times

SENARA, the government body in charge of the country's underground water supply, is to undertake a study of Tamarindo to work out what damage, if any, is being done to the town's drinking water.

“The contamination of the beaches is a grave issue, but not as dire as if the aquifers were contaminated,” said Bernal Soto, Executive Director of the Servicio Nacional de Aguas Subterráneas, Riego y Advenamiento.

“It would be a tragedy.”

Mr Soto's comments came amidst increasing debate over how to deal with the surface contamination of Tamarindo's beaches, after the government's water authority Aguas y Alcantarillados (AyA) found high levels of fecal contamination in 13 points along the main beach in late August.

Although business leaders and the community met in separate meetings to address pressing issues such as increasing hotel cancellations, and the Ministry of Health's imminent census to identify pollution sources (see box at right), environmental experts warn of a graver risk at hand.

Carlos Romero, an engineer with SENARA, said this week the accelerated development in Tamarindo, without any precautionary measures, was putting the aquifers at risk.

“The last study—four or five years ago—measured capacity and availability,” Mr Romero said. “What was found then was the extractions were equal to the recharge, which means the aquifers were already at risk.

“We now need to carry out more specific studies,” he added. “We are about to commence with a detailed study as to how vulnerable is the aquifer so that we can draw up a zoning map for the aquifer that shows high risk areas.

“With this, restrictions can be applied.”

Mr Romero said the studies containing vulnerability maps would take about six months to complete.

Meanwhile, in a memorandum to the Municipal Council of Santa Cruz, the municipality's environmental director, biologist William Arauz, asked for emergency measures to safe-guard the Huacas-Tamarindo Aquifer.

“The negative chain of results uncovered by the study [AyA] in reference to superficial waters, is irrefutable proof of the serious environmental problem and of public health, caused by a generalized lack of regulation—specifically in matters of management of black waters in the areas of housing developments in Tamarindo and Langosta beaches,” the memo reads.

“The ill functioning of the treatment systems in place—be it septic tanks or treatment plants—represent a risk of contamination to the aquifers,” he concluded.

In addition to the vulnerability maps, the note requests all septic systems are switched over to treatment plants; that SENARA provide a study of the area to determine the loads it can support for run-off from the plants, and a moratorium on construction permits in areas of Tamarindo and Langosta until the situation is corrected.

“Whether the aquifer is contaminated by salinity or by fecal coli forms, the damage would be irreversible,” Mr Arauz told the council. “What has to be done is to normalize the situation.”
He was emphatic in stressing that the moratorium should not be “satanized” nor that development should be stopped, but rather how to develop and under which conditions.

He added the moratorium should extend through the natural geographical boundaries comprised between the Tamarindo Estuary in the North and the San Francisco Estuary in the South, and up to one kilometer West from the beach line.

SENARA's Romero agrees the studies will provide maps that will be used as criteria to uphold restrictions.

The fragility of the Huacas-Tamarindo Aquifer was well known, added Mr Romero who said there was already a moratorium on well drilling in some sectors.

“In Tamarindo, there's practically no water; the area has been closed to well drilling since 2003,” he explained, “Only South of Tamarindo—towards Pinilla—are permits still being issued.

“Beko (a private water supplier in Tamarindo), for instance, presented a study to drill some wells a few months ago and their request was denied,” said Mr Romero.

Absolutely closed to drilling, according to SENARA, are most areas Huacas-Tamarindo, and the coastal area of Brasilito-Potrero and the Nimboyores region.

“In the Brasilito—Potrero region, studies from 1997 already showed traces of salt contamination, although well permits are still allowed in the mountain areas of Brasilito, Potrero and Playa Grande,” he explained

The memo met with a cautious response from councilors. Albeit agreeing the issue was serious, the council agreed to convene an extraordinary meeting between the Legal and Environmental Departments, the council and the Ministry of Health and AyA to analyze the proposed emergency measures.

In addition and in a deal brokered with the tourism development Reserva Conchal, the Mayor said he was emptying the black waters from the septic tanks in Tamarindo, and that they would be treated at Conchal.

Ana Saborío, CEO of Reserva Conchal in neighboring Brasilito confirmed the tourism enclave was willing to help their beleaguered neighbor.

“This is an emergency solution,” she said, “I have offered Mayor Chavarría to help get them out of the crisis, but not on a permanent basis.”

Mayor Chavarría warned they should proceed with caution in adopting the controversial measures: “We cannot give Tamarindo the final death blow.”