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Frontera NorteSur
March 2002

ENVIRONMENT


Méxicali's Laguna Mexico: Another Trashed Lake on the Border

Much like the heavily polluted Laguna La Escondida in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, on the other end of the US-Mexico border, Méxicali's Laguna Mexico is a small lake that middle-age area residents remember from their youth as a place where they could go to picnic and swim on hot summer days.
Now, however, the Laguna Mexico serves as an illegal trash dump and the Baja California state government has said that it will not invest in restoring the lake this year.

Arturo Espinoza Jaramillo, the head of the state's Secretaría de Asentamiento Humanos y Obras Públicas del Estado ((Housing and Public Works, Sahope), told the Méxicali newspaper La Crónica that the restoration of the lake is the responsibility of the federal government's Comisión Nacional del Agua (CNA).

Espinoza also said that any action to improve the lake would have to begin at the local level and then be approved at the state level. The project would then be paid for by the CNA, he said.

Espinoza stated that he has not yet been advised of any city plans to begin work at the lake.

To see a previous FNS story with photos on Reynosa's polluted Laguna Escondida and the social justice issues that surround the proposed restoration program, go to http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/apr01/feat4.html

Source: La Crónica (Méxicali), February 26, 2002. Article by Eneida Sánchez Zambrano.

UACJ and IMIP to Work Together on Ciudad Juárez Water Project

The Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), the largest university in Cd. Juárez, and the city's Instituto Municipal de Investigación y Planeación (IMIP), signed an agreement on February 21, 2002 to work together toward integrated management of rainwater runoff and city drainage.

Signing the accord were Felipe Fornelli Lafón, the president of UACJ, and Luis Felipe Siqueiros, the director of the city planning office, IMIP.

According to Siqueiros, Cd. Juárez receives its yearly rain in hard, surprise storms which cause flooding in the city and blocked stream beds.

In past years, dozens of people have died after being swept away by flood waters.

Fornelli said that UACJ's environmental lab will be in charge of performing the rainwater study. Two professors will take part in the work which should be completed after this year's fourth rainfall.

Source: El Diario, February 22, 2002. Article by Guadalupe Félix & Araly Castañon.

Lining of All-American Canal Threatens the Méxicali Valley

Two scientists, Eduardo Paredes Arellano and Angel López López, concluded a report about the effects of the lining of the All-American Canal, by stating that environmental and socioeconomic impact studies should be done before the Imperial Irrigation District begins its project.

According to their report, 100 million cubic meters of water will no longer enter the Méxicali Valley's aquifer if the canal is lined by the irrigation district to prevent seepage.

The report also finds that the impact on underground water will directly affect 190 wells that irrigate 19,000 hectares (46,951 acres) in the Méxicali Valley.

Also, because the water quality in the All-American Canal is higher than that of other, more salty water that refills the aquifer, the researchers predict that future, less-pure aquifer water will cause the environmental devastation of 30,000 hectares (74,133 acres).

In May, 2001, MotherJones.com ran an article on the subject available at http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/canal.html

Source: La Crónica (Méxicali), February 1, 2002. Article by César Angulo.

5,000 Gallon Diesel Spill in Ciudad Juárez

Digging machinery was responsible for rupturing a Pemex diesel pipeline in Ciudad Juárez on Thursday, February 14, according to Pamela Franco Reza, director of Ecología y Protección Civil for the city.

The break in the line spilled approximately 20,000 liters (5,000 gallons) of the fuel, said Franco. Although the pipeline was shut down immediately after the break, fuel shot more than twenty feet into the air for a period of time after the break.

The incident occurred near the Fluorex plant in Cd. Juárez where fluoric acid is produced. In the past, the plant has been criticized for its large piles of anhydrite that is a byproduct of fluoric acid manufacturing.

However, on Thursday, the white anhydrite powder was used to make containment walls around the flow of diesel fuel. Fluorex has always contended that anhydrite is safe and it has even been used to make gym flooring in area schools.

An estimated 6,000 square meters were affected by the spill, according to one estimate.

City officials are now planning to recover as much diesel as possible. Then they will repair the pipeline and clean up all contaminated ground.

Source: El Diario, February 15, 2002. Article by Alejandro Quintero.