Hurricane Stan occurred four years ago, and in my Hometown Panajachel it was well marked that it was a disaster which affected most of the towns nearby, but what they forget to mention is that it was also a determining factor for the contamination of what used to be the precious lake that surrounds us, and what is now a
During the hurricane Stan all of the water treatment plants in Panajachel were destroyed due to the strong winds and rising waters, and at the time it did not seem all that harmful, so the topic was left ignored and forgotten by both the authorities and the people, who were more interested on resolving short term consequences. So then the Municipalidad decided to make a business out of connecting all the water and sanitary pipes to the river which was also connected to the lake. This is when things gradually became worse; so we add oil and gasoline from the boats that circulate the lake, dirty water and crap flowing from the river into the lake, people using soap to wash clothes and take showers in the lake , no water treatment plants to clean the water, and we multiply these times the period of four years, plus ignorance of the future outcomes of all these, and we have a: massive algae bloom which was destined to happen. Then I ask myself how can something which occurred four years ago still not be taken care of, and is still now contaminating the lake, and how does the Mayor just not care about what happens. How can this be possible? A past ghost from years ago is still haunting us so we decide just to run away or pretend that it is not here. So we actually decide to try to help the lake after we almost lost it once? It is ridiculous that we have to put something so beautiful in such state to realize the stupidity and self-centered actions we took so long ago and that some people still do. I believe this is a wakeup call for every person that lives near the Lake Atitlan, and also a warning to what is next to come if we don’t answer the desperate help signals we are receiving.
We already have Amatitlan as an example of what could happen to our lake if we don’t stop contaminating, but I guess that just isn’t enough to switch people’s mentalities over the situation we are in. Lake Atitlan is fighting on its own against the ghost of the hurricane Stan for far too long, and I think we owe the lake at the very least a hand to show support, and that we are also there for him, but we have to give a hand now!. So yeah we think the lake has gotten better because of the recent drop of temperature and the constant rain, but remember what triggered all this in first place was us, and the final catalyst was the hot sunny weather that occurred before, so what’s going to prevent the algae bloom from happening again next summer? Nature already saved the lake once I think it’s our turn to do it if it happens again. In the end we can never predict what weather is keeping for us but what we can do is stop the long term consequences that the lake was set upon.
By: Rodrgio Paiz
More Background on the Lake...
This world is about to lose an important body of water. In this district of Guatemala there a beautiful lake that is slowly withering away from us. This lake is called Atitlan. Right now its going through a cyanobacteria bloom and it might be lost to the excessive human growth. There are treatments that people are doing to save this beautiful ecosystem but all there projects won´t start making effects for at least more than 10 years unless they don’t take the necessary actions now.
This lake is known worldwide since its the only lake with a volcano view from any town that you live in. The lake is rare in its beauty and formation: it is a caldera with almost bottomless depths.
Panajachel is the most industrial of all the lake's villages, and its economy is based on tourism. Panajachel is one of the main reason for this cyanobacteria bloom since we don’t have a water treatment plant. The water treatment plant was lost in 2005 from a hurricane called Stan which devastated many cities and towns around the country. It’s been 4 years since the destruction of Stan, but no one did anything until it got serious in 2009.
I interviewed a man named Giovanni who told me about this cyanobacteria bloom. He told me that every body of water has cyanobacteria. This bacteria is the oldest bacteria existing in the world. The cyanobacterium feeds off nitrogen and carbon which are main components of some fertilizers used in crops. He also told me that all around the lake are major plantations that contribute to this problem. He said that just up the mountain, where people paraglide, there's a plantation where some corporate people plant over 600 lettuces in season. When I say corporate I mean Paiz and McDonalds which are the two of the corporations that plant. There are many other corporations that plant in this area of Guatemala as well, such as Starbucks whom has a coffee plantation in this region. These corporations use excessive amounts of fertilizers to reach the demands on the food to grow in Guatemala.
Giovanni also told me that cyanobacteria is found in the ocean but its more known as red tide. The red tide is a cyanobacteria bloom like what's going on in the lake. The red tide goes away but kills the fish in the part of the ocean that it appears. Like the red tide, the cyanobacteria in the lake only comes once a year, but each time it gets worse. This process will continue on and on until the lake turns into a swamp if nothing is done. Since this is a closed body of water this cyanobacteria can’t be washed out by the waves or by the current of a river.
We have to take actions to save our lake and it should be as immediate as possible before its irreversible. So people at home do all you can at home to make some results and hope that the government does something also. We can start by making a fostic tank at home where all defecation goes. Also, we need to spread eduction about not washing clothes in the lake, using soaps without phosphates, and not throwing trash into our water sources.
Hopefully someone of a higher power than the town people will do something. McDonald's actually is helping us with the lake, but in my opinion its just a marketing scheme so they can put a McDonald's in Panajachel (which the people are against).
by Morgan Housego
Photo of cyanobacteria in the lake. Courtesy of http://www.lakeatitlanhealth.com
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