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    - Photo via Water Institute -
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Published on Monday, February 5, 2024
By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
On Sunday, the Ministry of Health and the Water Institute (AyA) established a contingency plan to provide drinking water to around 30 towns in Turrialba Canton, Cartago Province, following the detection of hydrocarbon-contaminated water.
Water tanks at Río Claro district were contaminated with hydrocarbons, as revealed by chemical testing, authorities confirmed.
As a backup plan, water tank trucks will provide drinking water around the neighborhoods to about 79,000 people who have been affected by the suspension of water services as a safety precaution to avoid health risks from tainted water.
Turrialba's water pollution joins recent occurrences in many districts of San José Province, such as Llorente, Calle Blancos, Cinco Esquinas, Colima, León XIII, San Juan, Guadalupe, San Francisco, San Vicente, Uruca, Merced and Carmen.
Authorities completed studies in those districts and found that the water was tainted with xylenes, impacting more than 100,000 individuals who had to collect water from AyA water tank trucks.
Xylenes are chemicals generated by coal carbonization in the creation of coke fuel. They can also be found in crude oil and gasoline at low amounts.
Authorities expect San José's drinking water supply to be fully restored this week.
The authorities recommend consumers to phone the ten-digit line 800 737 6783 if they suspect their water is tainted.
A.M. Costa Rica urges readers to share this alert with their contacts. ---------------
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