Contaminated rivers are not something unusual anywhere in the world, every country has their own contaminated rivers, which is sad, but true; Costa Rica being a “green country” is no exception.

According to the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) the Tarcoles River in Costa Rica is the most contaminated river in Central America, it receives the equivalent of 100 Olympic pools of contaminated waters every day, the solid wastes carried by this river end up in Playa Azul and Guacalillo in Puntarenas, mountains of trash are found here every day, including appliances, different plastic objects, clothes, shoes, etc.

The Tarcoles River gets the organic waste, solid waste, and agrochemicals that are dumped to the Maria Aguilar, Torres and Tiribí Rivers in the metropolitan area. According to the Aqueducts and Sewers office (AyA) the Torres River alone reached a level of 50 million fecal coliforms for every 100 milliliters, (information gathered by La Republica newspaper), which places this river among the most contaminated in the world.

AyA is working on an environmental improvement plan that includes the construction of metropolitan sewers with a treatment plant.

“This will help a lot, but ideally we need people to change their culture of throwing solid wastes to the rivers and instead, start working towards the protection of the environment”, stated Darner Mora Alvarado, director of the Waters Laboratory of the AyA.

The majority of the contamination of the Tarcoles River comes from the commercial activities in the urban area.

“We are banning illegal garbage dumps and inspecting some industries on how they handle their residues. Also, we are waiting for AyA to finish its treatment plant and we will continue supporting the Foundation Rutas Naturbanas with its megaproject to protect the Maria Aguilar and Torres Rivers”, commented Johnny Araya, mayor of San Jose.

The contamination of rivers in Costa Rica has a direct effect over the health of its citizens, the local fauna and also a financial impact since one of the country’s biggest strengths is the Ecotourism activities.

“We are a green country to the international eyes, and the level of contamination of the rivers is unacceptable, it is time that we make the necessary changes to validate this recognition. The contamination affects everyone and the planet. Large part of the tourists that visit Costa Rica come for Eco-tourism, and therefore contamination affects this”, expressed Carlos Vásquez, director of the organization Amigos del Rio Torres (Friends of Torres River).

Just a few weeks back a video that was taped by a fisherman in Costa Rica went viral, in it, he cut open a dead fish, a mahi mahi, and the stomach was full of plastic garbage.