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DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

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DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

Water

“Drinking Water Quality in the city of Lima, Peru”

Manuel Andres Sanchez Cardenas

2016

(2600 words)
DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

Abstract

Though Peru has abundant water sources, most of these are widely contaminated or not

adequately treated. This is an unfortunate reality for the country’s capital, the city of Lima,

which often deals with both water scarcity and poor water quality supply. Because the city is

located in a desert, the city relies heavily on its main river, the Rimac River, as its primary

drinking water source. Unfortunately, the Rimac River has suffered a significant diminishing

of its quality due industrial, mining, agricultural and urban contamination. As a consequence,

the growing water demand along with the Rimac River irregular and widely contaminated

water flows are threating water quality and public health in Peru’s main city, home to almost

one-third of its population. Even though the water quality situation is not critical, there are

several potential factors that could turn it critical in the coming decades, which will be

analyzed in this essay. Finally, it is important to highlight that, although the responsible

companies and authorities for ensuring water quality have been taking some initiatives in

order to improve water quality distribution within the city, further efforts are still needed to

ensure water quality in a sustainable way along with the contribution of the city’s population,

which also play an important role.

DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

Water

“Drinking Water Quality in the city of Lima, Peru”

Although characterized by a harsh geography, Peru is not a water scarce country, it has been

catalogued as 8th country in terms of water availability and is estimated that it concentrates

almost 2% of the world’s fresh water (ANA, 2016), due to its vast Andean glaciers, lakes,

rivers (e.g. the amazon river) and aquifers. Nevertheless, these abundant water sources are

not only inequitably distributed throughout the country, but are widely contaminated or not

adequately treated. In this regard, the country’s more developed and largest city, which is the

capital city of Lima, is not completely safe from both water scarcity and poor water quality

supplies. Lima is the second largest city located in a desert, only after El Cairo city in Egypt

(ANA, 2015), with no large water reserves and a very limited precipitation level of 9

millimeters per year, therefore, the city relies heavily on its main river, the Rimac River, as

its primary drinking water source (Aquafondo, 2015). However, this fundamental drinking

water source has suffered a significant diminishing of its quality in latest decades due to

multiple factors such as industrial, mining and agricultural activities (ODS, 2015), and

currently faces a concerning environmental degradation that results in many water

contamination issues for the city (Aquafondo, 2015), especially considering the threat that it

represents for the city’s public health. Despite that the authorities and public utilities have

implemented a series of legislations, initiatives and technological upgrades, the growing

water demand as a result of the increasing population of the city along with the Rimac River

irregular and widely contaminated water flows, continue to jeopardize water quality in Peru’s

main city, home to almost one-third of its population (INEI, 2014).

DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

In order to properly understand the water quality situation in Lima as well as the challenges

that the city currently faces on this topic, it is important to comprehend which are the city’s

drinking water sources and where they originate. As previously stated, Lima is located in a

desert area where water scarcity is a constant issue, since the area doesn’t have multiple

rivers or big water reserves and furthermore, the Lima region only concentrates 1.8% of the

country’s water reserves (Aquafondo, 2015) but gathers almost 30% of the country’s

population (INEI, 2015), fact that further complicates the water quality assurance in the city.

The city of Lima completely depends on 3 rivers, the Rimac, the Chillon and the Lurin, and

from these 3 water sources, the Rimac watershed is the most significant, since it supplies

about 80% of the water consumed by the city, mainly because the Chillon and Lurin rivers

have irregular flows that depend exclusively on the precipitation levels in the Andean region

(Aquafondo, 2015). On the other hand, the Rimac River originates up in the glaciers of the

Andes Mountains, specifically in the “Paca Glacier”, at an altitude of 5,500 meters above sea

level, 132 km northeast of Lima (Infoandina, 2016). As the Rimac watershed flows towards

the Pacific Ocean, it connects and receives the water flows from the San Mateo, Santa Eulalia

and Blanco rivers, which are the main tributaries of the Rimac River. The importance of the

Rimac river relies not only on the drinking water it provides to the city, but on its essential

role for industrial activities and hydroelectric plants located throughout the riverbed, which

tend to contribute to the river’s contamination.

In 2013, the Peruvian Minister of Agriculture, Milton Von Hesse, announced that the Rimac

River has “long ceased to be a river and has become a sewer, because of the high level of

pollution of its waters” (Correo, 2013). Unfortunately, this statement is not far from reality,

since the Rimac River is the most environmentally impaired river among the 53 different

rivers basins that pass through the Peruvian coast, with very high levels of metals (e.g. lead,
DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

manganese, mercury), solid waste, pathogens and other dissolved compounds, as a result of

industrial, agricultural and domestic activities throughout the entire Rimac watershed

(Bernex, 2013), The Rimac River contamination starts at very high altitudes, almost at the

beginning of the Rimac watershed due to agriculture in the rural areas, where related

activities cause a severe impact on the natural ecosystems because of overgrazing,

agrochemicals, wetlands deterioration and grassland burning, ecosystems which play an

essential role in regulating water flows, filtering contaminants as well as preventing floods

and landslides (Aquafondo, 2015). Furthermore, the industrial complexes installed near the

river basin (e.g. food and breweries facilities) often discharge organic and inorganic

compounds into the river (Andina, 2012) and towns located next to the Rimac River tend to

pour their domestic wastewater and other solid wastes into it without any kind of treatment in

many cases (Actualidad Ambiental, 2014). However, mining waste runoffs (from both legal

and illegal mining), which occur in the highlands are the main source of contamination for

the Rimac River (Zuchetti, 2012). As a matter of fact, studies have determined that 60% of

the Rimac River contamination is caused by mining activities, while household and industrial

waste runoffs represent 25% and 15%, respectively (Andina, 2012); and a recent assessment

made by the “National Water Authority” to measure the river’s water quality, detected 1185

different contamination points throughout the entire Rimac River basin from the Andes to the

city (La Republica, 2016). Additionally, its important to highlight that during the rainy

season in the Andean region, tons of mud and rocks from landslides fall into the river,

increasing the turbidity levels of the water (Andina, 2016) and further deteriorating its

condition. A few years ago, the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology- SENHAMI

found that the PH levels of the river were below the recommended threshold (6,08 – 6, 30)

and detected the presence of toxic substances like copper, which surpassed the permissible

levels (SENAMHI, 2007). In 2012, the National Water Authority- ANA carried out an
DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

assessment to measure the river’s water quality, reporting that the contamination levels

widely exceeded the international standards with very high concentrations of toxic metals and

fecal coliforms (Aquafondo, 2015). A recent 2016 assessment conducted by the National

Institute of Statistics- INEI, detected that lead levels in the river reached a concentration of

12 micrograms per liter (mg/l), more than twice the permitted level by the WHO. The study

also reported that lead, iron and aluminum levels showed an increase of 41.7%, 141% and

28% with respect to 2015 measurements (El Comercio, 2016). All the mentioned factors are a

hazard not only to human health but to the aquatic flora and fauna of the river, since the

contamination levels have caused the disappearance of approx. 85% of the biodiversity of the

river and when it finally reaches the water treatment plants located within the city, it is often

said to be a “dead” river (Actualidad Ambiental, 2014). Furthermore, when the Rimac river

water flow enter the metropolitan area of Lima, it continuously receives a considerable

amount of trash and waste from the surrounding neighborhoods, which, added to all the

previous contamination, causes an increasing, constant and expensive technological effort to

purify the main drinking water source of the city of Lima, considering that the river has

concentrations of pollutants that exceed environmental quality standards (Zuchetti, 2012). As

a consequence, the rising water demand in Lima, combined with the high contamination

levels of its main water source and some public utility deficiencies, can lead to inadequate or

insufficient water treatment processes, putting the health of thousands of households at

jeopardy, considering that people who consume contaminated water may suffer from water-

borne diseases such as diarrhea, parasitism, growth retardation, skin lesions, among others

(Aguasan, n.d). This scenario could worsen in the case of poor households, since many poor

districts of Lima lack an adequate water supply and drainage systems, which can increase the

effects of consuming poor quality water (Bernex, 2013).

DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

Considering all the abovementioned, it is clear that when the Rimac River water gets into the

city of Lima, the purity and quality it had at 5000 meters above sea level is long gone. The

National Water Authority (ANA) reported that restoring water quality in the Rimac river

would cost about US$ 4 billion through investing in additional treatment plants, wastewater

reuse projects, wetlands recovery and expansion of the sewerages (La Prensa, 2014). In that

sense, there are different public actors responsible of providing and ensuring that the

residents of Lima have to water with an appropriate quality. The Ministry of Housing,

Construction and Sanitation is the lead agency in what refers to formulate, approve and

monitor the implementation of drinking water regulatory policies at a national level

(Vivienda, 2006). In 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture created the “National Water

Authority- ANA” as the maximum technical and regulatory authority of the nation’s water

resources management and with the aim to preserve water resources and their sustainable

exploitation (ANA, 2016). Furthermore, at a local level, the Municipalities Law (No. 27972)

states that the provision and administration of drinking water within the city is the role of the

Municipality of Lima, either directly or by concession (Munlima, 2003) and the National

Superintendence of Sanitary Services- SUNASS is the agency responsible of monitoring

water quality in Lima whether it is treated and distributed directly by the Municipality or a

third party (CEPAL, 2010). Hence, the Municipality of Lima gave in concession the city’s

drinking water administration to SEDAPAL, a Peruvian state-owned company created in

1981 with the mission to provide safe and potable drinking water to the metropolitan area of

Lima (ALOAS, 2012), by treating the Rimac River’s water on its main treatment facility

located within the city named “La Atarjea”, which has selected purification processes

according to biological and chemical characteristics of the river, through an integrated

management system for quality and environment, based on ISO 9001 and 14001 standards

(Vivienda, 2006). The mentioned treatment processes include 9 fundamental phases: 1)

DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

Water Catchment, 2) Sand and sediments removal, 3) Pre-Chlorination, 4) Regulation, 5)

Algaecides, Aluminum Sulfate and Ferric Chloride Treatment, 6) Decantation and

Coagulation, 7) Filtration of fine particles, 8) Final Chlorination, and 9) Storage in reservoirs

prior to urban distribution (Congreso de la Republica, 2012). However, SEDAPAL invests

three times more economic resources for drinkable water treatment due to the high

contamination and turbidity levels of the Rimac River water, and despite the integrated

quality systems, technological investments and complex purifying processes, recent water

quality assessments have determined that only 58.5% of Lima’s drinking water supplies have

reasonable quality standards, while 24.1% doesn’t have adequate chlorine levels and the

remaining 17,4% doesn’t even have chlorine levels at all (RPP, 2013). Besides certain

inefficiencies and other issues during the treatment process, there are other factors that

contribute with these concerning statistics are related with the lack of maintenance of key

distribution pipes throughout the city; the antiquity of many water pipes, which affects water

quality; and the improper use of potable water both by the population and the authorities

(Futuro Latino Americano, 2015). Additionally, the obsolescence of the Water Quality for

Human Consumption Official Norm (1946) as well as the lack of a legal framework that

could enable SUNASS and other relevant authorities to impose sanctions to SEDAPAL if

water quality levels are compromised or do not meet the adequate standards (CEPAL, 2010),

represent important obstacles to effectively ensure Lima’s drinking water quality.

Even though the water that leaves the treatment plant is suitable for human consumption and

that SEDAPAL continuously states that the treated water they distribute to the urban areas is

safe and can be drunk by people without any risks, specialists from the General Directorate of

Environmental Health- DIGESA and the Ministry of Health often recommend not to drink

the water directly from the sink, since there’s no warranty that the water will reach every

house with the same quality it left the treatment plant due to the bad quality, antiquity and
DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

deficient maintenance of domestic water pipes throughout the city (El Comercio, 2016).

Thus, boiling water from the sink in order to cook is a common practice among Lima’s

citizens, considering that authorities assessments have found different bacteria and coliforms

such as Helicobacter Pylori in many household sinks and domestic pipes (El Comercio,

2016). This is not a minor fact, considering that the Ministry of Health informed that 80% of

the gastritis cases in Peru are caused by drinking water directly from the sink, without boiling

it (MINSA, 2016) and further studies have determined that 8 out of 10 Peruvians have or

have had gastritis (Altavoz, n.d). In order to tackle the unreliable water quality issues, it has

already been mentioned that SEDAPAL has been continuously investing millions of dollars

in technological upgrades and assets, but despite its efforts to ensure water quality in Lima,

the expected and desirable outcomes haven’t been met. In this matter, SEDAPAL is fully

aware of its responsibility and that the growing population in Lima will increase the demand

of water in the coming decades. Therefore, SEDAPAL designed and presented its 2015-2044

Master Plan, with the aim to improve the water services in the city by facing many current

and upcoming challenges, water quality among them (SEDAPAL, 2015). Although

SEDAPAL is a key actor in what refers to water quality, other relevant authorities are also

joining efforts to improve the water situation in Lima. The National Water Authority- ANA is

currently implementing different sensitization and water culture promotion within the society,

as well as cooperating with the Agency of Environmental Assessment and Control- OEFA to

identify and monitor polluting industries (ANA, 2016). Furthermore, it has requested US$ 6

million to the Korean International Cooperation Agency- KOICA to implement a system of

automatic sensors that send real-time information on the quality and quantity of the Rimac

River (El Comercio, 2016). On the other hand, the Ministry of Economy is planning to invest

540 million Peruvian Soles (approx. US$ 160.8 million) to construct a new treatment plant

for Lima in 2017 (Entorno Inteligente, 2016). There are also innovative approaches being
DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

considered to find a solution for both water scarcity and water quality in Lima, since there is

a desalinization plant in the coast of Lima, owned by a private company, which distribute

drinking water with adequate quality levels but only to a small area of the city. Additionally,

the elevated costs of the technic and water transportation is still a main obstacle for making it

a massive distribution option (Seifert, 2009).

Water distribution is perhaps the most vital aspect not only to ensure any city's growth and

development but also to ensure its survival. However, Lima's case is a good example of an

scenario where water availability is not correlated or is not the same as water quality

availability, since constant and effective water supply is not enough in order to ensure a water

standard distribution that will not represent a threat for the population's health. In the case of

Lima, it can be said that the reduce number of treatment plants with all their limitations, are

absolutely essential for the country’s development as well, taking into consideration the

economic, social, demographic and political preponderance of Lima, and even though the

water quality situation is not critical, there are several potential factors that could turn it

critical in the coming decades, factors such as longer and recurring droughts and

desertification expansion as a consequence of climate change; environmental degradation

throughout the entire Rimac river basin and the reduction of its water flows as a result of

melting glaciers in the Andean mountains; as well as the exponential growth of Lima’s

population, which is expected to increase in 32% by 2035 (INEI, 2015). There’s no doubt

that in order to successfully provide water quality while facing these threats, SEDAPAL and

the relevant authorities still have much work to do. However, the responsibility doesn't relies

exclusively on these organizations, since the role played by the population is highly

important, considering that people’s waste and inadequate water handling are important water
DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

contamination sources, therefore, people of Lima should develop and consolidate a Water

Care culture.
DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN THE CITY OF LIMA, PERU

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