Worsening Municipal Sewage Pollution in the Wapés River, Colombian Amazon

Sewage treatment facilities in upstream towns have frequently collapsed due to their low-lying locations, resulting in massive amounts of untreated domestic sewage and municipal waste being discharged directly into the main Wapés River, where levels of E. coli and organic pollutants have exceeded all standards. Downstream, the Makakiniño Indigenous people rely on the river for fishing, hunting, and water collection. Recently, there has been a sharp increase in cases of gastrointestinal and skin diseases, and the population of native freshwater fish in the river has plummeted. Domestic pollution resulting from uncontrolled urban expansion is emerging as a new source of contamination in the rainforest’s inland water systems.