Cancun, Q.R. — The Government of Quintana Roo has spent 30 million pesos for a leachate treatment plant in Laguna Chacmuchuch. The new plant will address the pollution caused in previous years by the city’s old landfill.
Officials hope the new treatment plant will reverse the damage caused by the previously used landfill in the Laguna Chacmuchuch Protected Natural Area.
Óscar Rébora, the Secretary of the Environment in Quintana Roo, says the intention is to clean up the site to purify the contaminated water in hopes of achieving a 98% efficiency rate.
He said the site, located between the municipalities of Benito Juárez (Cancun) and Isla Mujeres, housed the area’s first landfill whose leachate ponds were constantly overflowing.
During rainfall, these highly toxic liquids spilled into the lagoon, seeping into the mangroves and eventually the sea. The new plant was inaguarated Friday.
The plant also includes a comprehensive environmental safety strategy financed through a pioneering trust with contributions from the private sector.
As part of complementary measures, the Government of Quintana Roo is also working on a surveillance project for the Arco Norte area, where the illegal dumping of waste has been detected.
The infrastructure involves an investment of between 8 and 9 million pesos and includes the construction of a guardhouse, staffed with National Guard, to serve as a control center to monitor area access and prevent illegal dumping.
The project is currently in the executive planning stage and aims to strengthen surveillance to prevent further environmental impacts in the Chacmochuch area.
