Water World Day 2009

As part of our celebration to commemorate World Water Day, The CEA, in coordination with CAPA (Comision de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado) and the children of Akumal, painted a mural on the new pumping station on 19 March. The painting depicts the hydrological cycle of water.

Over the last three years, CEA’s Water Quality Program carried out an evaluation of the sewage treatment in Akumal to understand the kind of treatment being used in the area, for both the coastal and town sections of Akumal. We found that 49% of the treatment being used in North Akumal is done using artificial wetlands, 27% with just septic tanks and 5% using treatment plants. We did not have access to the rest of the houses. In Akumal Pueblo, we found that in Phase 1, people have sewage, but not all of the houses are connected to the system, and in Phase 2 the people do not have sewage lines. This year, we want to extend the area of research to South Akumal, and conduct a census from Akumal Beach Resort to Bahia Principe, to determine how wastewater is being treated.

With the results of the diagnosis we will be able to determine the activities that we need to promote with the community and the government in order to ensure that all of the sewage is being treated, thus not reaching the underground rivers and eventually the reef.

Now, CEA and CAPA (the state water commission) are doing a census in Akumal Pueblo to find out which houses are not connected to the existing system and we are looking for money to help these people pay for connecting their house. We are working with the Friends of Yal Ku Lagoon and the Yucatan Environmental Foundation to set up a trust fund that will offer micro-credits to low-income households. These funds will be matched by the Mexican state and federal government water agencies. The local program has been named "Hook a House."