Costa Rica Races to Reverse the Effects of Pollution in its Beaches.

A group of thirteen Costa Rican beaches have reported very high levels of fecal contamination, mostly due to sewage runoff from homes, hotels, and businesses that do not have proper sewage treatment facilities. Having sounded the warning signal, local communities and government authorities are now racing to find the sources of the pollution and take the necessary corrective measures to reverse the problem before it is too late.

Among the affected beaches are Puntarenas‘ province’s Jacó, Quepos, and Tambor, Guanacaste’s Playa del Coco and Limón’s Cieneguita and Portete. These six beaches report fecal coliform levels of 240 per each 100 milliliters of water, the result of feces residue in the ocean. At this level, experts recommend that beach goers not swim in the waters.

Seven other beaches — Guanacaste’s Sámara and Tamarindo, Puntarenas’ Agujas, Hermosa, and Herradura, and Limó’s Manzanillo and Puerto Viejo — also show high levels of sewage runoff, though they are not high enough to cause a swimming ban. The seven beaches reportedly have feeder rivers, streams, or sewage outlets with coliform levels of 1000 per each 100 milliliters of water, and the Laboratory of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA) reports that though these levels have not yet begun to affect the ocean’s level of feces contamination, they could affect future water quality.

In addition to future pollution problems, high contamination levels are enough to threaten the beaches’ blue flag designations. The Blue Flag Program grants special designation to all Costa Rica beaches whose water quality, ecological standards, environmental management, safety controls, and other factors, including adherence to certain national standards, meet certain criteria. The country’s blue flag winners generally hover around 50 beaches and local communities per year, though several, including Tamarindo, Santa Teresa, and Puntarenas, have lost their flags in the last few years.

An example of this current problem, and its solution, is the Pacific’s Tamarindo Beach, which showed such serious contamination levels in 2007 that visitors were advised to keep out of the water. In November 2007, Tamarindo’s Blue Flag was taken away. At that time, a thorough review was conducted on area homes, condos, and hotels, and two hotels and one hostel were found to be the source of most contamination problem. The Ministry of Health shut the businesses down, demanding that they fix the problems and revamp their waste treatment facilities before reopening.

Costa Rica’s rapid growth and booming tourism can be hard on the environment, but it’s clear that the government is committed to continued high standards and strict action. In fact, according to AyA, Tamarindo’s contamination levels have since dropped, and though certain areas still show contamination, the beach is on its way back to former glory. This improvement is, thankfully, typical of the country’s affected areas, as committed officials and citizens work hard to maintain high ecological standards. “Tamarindo [has] improved, but there is still much left to do on this beach,” chief of AyA’s National Water Laboratory, Darner Mora, said.

On September 5, Mora met with Ricardo Sancho, president of Aya, and María Luisa Ávila, Minister of Health, to discuss the thirteen identified beaches’ troublesome contamination levels. Together, the group decided to undergo corrective measures at each beach, and to monitor each one, looking for the contamination sources. This is easier said than done, since Costa Rica’s popular beaches are lined with condominiums, oceanfront businesses, and resort hotels, but the government promises to find and correct all contamination problems.

For the moment, Costa Rica’s plans will start small. “We’re going to make health sweeps and draw up health orders, even if that means closing or regulating activities that could generate any kind of contamination,” Mora indicated. In addition, the Ministry of Health will place warning signs at the affected beaches, warning potential swimmers to the dangerous waters. Rest assured, tourists and local beach lovers will be protected and informed.

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 8th, 2008