The Public Health Ministry began the process of cleaning up Tamarindo's act this week, closing three area hotels in this popular northwestern beach town and ordering government institutions to begin work on the infrastructure improvements needed to eliminate water contamination.
Last month, studies released by the National Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) found that all 13 sites tested along Tamarindo's beach exhibited high levels of fecal contamination – a direct result, they believe, of runoff from the booming Guanacaste beachfront town (TT, Oct. 26).
Hostel Tamarindo has been closed, according to Rodrigo Acuña, director of environmental health at the Public Health Ministry's office in Santa Cruz .
The hostel, he said, has been identified as a source of contamination and will remain closed until necessary changes are made and pollution ceases.
The Health Ministry also issued sanitary orders to, but did not close, Hotel Tamarindo Diria, Hotel Pasatiempo, El Milagro Hotel, among others, requesting further studies and information on high levels of pollution detected in ocean waters adjacent to the hotels.
The ministry also issued sanitary orders for AyA to begin the process of building a sewer system immediately and for the Santa Cruz Municipality to coordinate efforts between businesses and government institutions in Tamarindo.
Immediately following the discovery, the ministry ordered the municipality to post warning signs for tourists and residents on the beach and began planning for further tests to confirm the sources of contamination.
Despite the efforts made, Acuña said the region still lacks the funding and personnel to adequately deal with the problem.
“We can't do it all ourselves. We need help to be able to monitor and ensure that the sanitary orders are complied with,” he said |
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