 Palabras
Rosario Kandell
Fotos Michael Amici
The light at the end of the tunnel or sanitary sewage past, present
and future.
San Miguel’s public water and sanitary sewage system are the
full responsibility of SAPASMA. SAPASMA, which stands for Sistema
de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado del municipio de San Miguel Allende,
is a decentralized organization created in May 1992. Mr. Manuel
Anguiano, SAPASMA’s accountant, indicated that its purpose
is the planning and execution of work related to supplying potable
water as well as sanitary sewage and drainage to the community.
It was created after the federal government mandated that states
and municipalities manage their own water distribution systems.
An executive board as well as a municipal regent administer SAPASMA.
The board consists of a president, secretary, treasurer, and one
or two vocal members, appointed by the municipality for a period
of two years, who can then be re-appointed. Members of the board
receive compensation. The executive board designates a General Director.
The current General Director is Ingeniero José Antonio Jaramillo
Villalobos, who provided us with much of the following information.
 Until
1992 the water and sewage system had been operated by separate branches
of the municipality, the “sistema de agua potable” and
“servicios publicos”, respectively. SAPASMA unified
these two branches into one department. However, it is hard to pinpoint
when exactly in the town’s history the first sewage system
was introduced to SMA. What we do know is that the original sewage
system took household waste and deposited it into underground street
pipes that went directly into the city’s natural creeks.
According to SAPASMA’S Ingieniero Jose Luis Lozano, there
are still some of these original household connections, which were
made of clay pipes. “These connections have been replaced
gradually as the streets get re-paved,” commented Lozano,
“but at least 50% of the original downtown [area] still has
those ancient clay pipes draining into the sewage main. Of the remaining
71 colonias or barrios that form part of the urban area, most have
had sewage drainage installed. The only exception being the extensive
area of the Ejido Tirado, for which there already exist plans for
water and sewage service, and fraccionamiento Los Frailes, which
relies on septic tank systems.”
 According
to Ingeniero Jaramillo, the sewage problem reached a critical point
in the late 80’s and early 90’s due to the population
explosion that San Miguel underwent and is still experiencing.
Creeks have been traditionally used as the de facto main sewage
drain out of the city. San Miguel’s present sewage system
uses “collectors” rather than depositing raw sewage
directly into our creeks. Each household has a pipe that connects
to a drain along the street. The street drains then connect to the
collector. These collectors are large drains where the sewage from
a whole street or area empty. Both Ing. Jaramillo and Ing. Lozano
stated that great progress has been achieved with the construction
of the collectors.
“Collector de los cachinches”
was the first collector built. It runs from Presa del Obraje and
will eventually connect to the final collector, called the “emisor”
a la Planta Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales (the main drain to the
new Water Treatment Plant). This collector runs along the creek
“los cachinches” whereby it received its name. The creek
of los cachinches is the same one that crosses Avenida Aurora, beneath
the bridge near the old Aurora factory and again at the bottom of
Avenida Insurgentes. It continues along Avenida Guadalupe, under
puente Guanajuato, then runs south of Calzada de la Estacion, behind
the bus station. It then crosses the Libramiento a Dolores Hidalgo
and eventually ends in Presa Allende. Collector de los cachinches
has been almost completed and is just waiting for the water treatment
plant construction company to make the final connection. Presently,
the raw sewage that comes spewing out of the collector is being
deposited into a section of the cachinches creek, approximately
1-kilometer distance to the Presa Allende, where it meets its eventual
end.
 Collector
de los cachinches is a significant piece in the puzzle of San Miguel’s
sewage solution. There are other collectors throughout the city
that are at different stages of completion, but all of them will
eventually connect with the big daddy of all collectors, “los
cachinches”. Officials at SAPASMA indicated that the reason
that odors still permeate certain parts of the city, especially
during hot weather and along Calzada de la Luz, is that the homes
from the area of Atascadero to Calle de Relox still discharge their
sewage directly into Calzada de la Luz’s creek, and will do
so until the Atascadero collector is completed.
It is important to realize how essential the creeks are to the city.
They are the city’s main storm water drains and when the monsoons
of July-August come, these channels prevent serious flooding. Due
to their use as illegal trash dumps, the creeks have become congested
and do not drain properly during flood situations. The sewage that
is drained through the creeks then overflows into our streets. Despite
the fact that until recently the creeks have been used for sewage
drainage, SAPASMA does not have jurisdiction over the creeks or
storm drainage; they are the responsibility of Obras Publicas and
Ecologia. Ing. Lozano explained that plans are under way to clean
the Cachinches creek and military personnel will probably carry
out this duty.
 Concerning
the long awaited sewage treatment plant, which has been on the drawing
board for ten years, Ing. Jaramillo indicated the plant is at 52%
completion. And despite the fact that the project is about six months
delayed, when completed and in operation it will be a big accomplishment
for San Miguel Allende. I had the opportunity of touring the facility
with Ing. Jaramillo and two other citizens and was truly impressed
by the project.
The cost for the construction of the plant has been estimated at
$46,992,507.34 pesos. This facility is being financed by the Comisión
Nacional de Agua (42%), the Comisión de Agua de Guanajuato
(29%) and the Municipio of SMA (29%). If all three organizations
provide the promised funds on time, the plant should be operational
by mid-2005. At the moment the construction company is trying to
complete the work that could be delayed by rain.
 It
seems that in the state of Guanajuato there are no other cities
of San Miguel’s size with water treatment plants. Dolores
Hidalgo does not have such a facility. If one thinks of the number
of communities just in the Allende Municipality that lack sewage
disposal, whether in the form of latrines or septic systems, one
can see the magnitude of the problem. San Miguel has been very fortunate
in not having a major catastrophic health epidemic due to the multiple
sewage spillages throughout the years. The combination of third
world sewage disposal methods and medieval practices can be responsible
for the spreading of enteric bacterial diseases such as cholera,
typhoid fever (salmonella), shigellosis, E. coli; parasitic infections
such as amebiasis, giardiasis; and viruses such as hepatitis A and
E and potentially the gastrointestinal form of SARS. Sewage also
contains a myriad of other toxicants including heavy metals, household
organic chemicals such as pesticides and petroleum hydrocarbons,
and other chemicals contained in soaps, cosmetic preparations and
everyday pharmaceuticals. It is necessary that Ecology becomes more
involved in promoting sanitary disposal of human wastes. It should
also be Ecology’s responsibility to maintain the creeks clean
and enforce the existing environmental laws. |
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