Living with water pollution in Guatemala

1 year ago 6

By Marita Moloney

BBC News

The first UN water summit in almost 50 years is taking place this week in New York City, where thousands of delegates will meet to discuss a looming global water crisis caused by overconsumption and overdevelopment.

Reuters news agency sent a photographer to the Las Vacas river in the Chinautla municipality outside Guatemala City on Tuesday to record the impact that pollution is having on one waterway.

Image source, Reuters

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People collect scrap metal from the polluted river, which is straddled by Guatemala's largest landfill

Image source, Reuters

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This man, known as "Canche", is one of these informal workers

Image source, Reuters

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According to one non-profit group, The Ocean Cleanup, about 20,000 tonnes of rubbish are carried by the Las Vacas river each year

Image source, Reuters

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And it's not just humans that can be spotted in the rubbish-clogged waters, as seen here as a cow and her calves cross the river

Image source, Reuters

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Abner, 12, and Anderson, 9, were also pictured wading through the murky waters

Image source, Reuters

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Las Vacas is a tributary of the Rio Motagua, the largest river in Guatemala which flows into the Caribbean Sea

Image source, Reuters

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Last year, the Ocean Cleanup installed a steel-mesh screen on the river to try and stop the plastics before they reach the Caribbean

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