AyA on arsenic water problem: “We’ll do what we can” but money is a problem

A common symptom of arsenic poisoning. For illustrative purposes only.

April 23^rd, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com)  Last week, Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court (Sala IV) issued a Writ of Amparo against President Laura Chinchilla and various government agencies because they have failed to do anything about the fact that various water supplies in Guanacaste and northern Costa Rica – some twenty communities – contain dangerous levels of arsenic, even though the President declared the situation an emergency more than a year ago.

Now AyA is responding, but is indicating that there is not an immediate fix to the situation on the horizon.

Director of Research and Development for AyA, Carlos Vargas, said that “the country needs to understand that this is going to be addressed step-by-step,” adding that the company would do “what it could” to resolve the problem.  Vargas also said that the company was able to mitigate the arsenic level in two communities, Cañas and Bagaces.

Vargas said that a “step-by-step” approach is the only way to resolve the problem, because the use of (unspecified) “high-tech” equipment to remove the arsenic from the water would more than quadruple residents’ water bills.

“Communities need to be organized, you have to think about the costs.  Are [residents] willing to pay [higher water bills]?  It is hard… Is it possible for communities to use advanced technology (to remove the arsenic)?  No, it is not possible now, they need time to acquire these technologies,” Vargas said.

“You cannot build large aqueducts that require large investments of up to $3 million for each community, because getting that money takes three to five years,” Vargas added.

Vargas also confirmed the dangerous levels of arsenic in the affected communities’ water supplies, where samples of up to 186 micrograms per liter have been found – more than 18 times the generally accepted limit.

“People must understand that this is cannot be resolved with a machine that removes arsenic, because if a community [does not have the money to pay] it would be left behind,” Vargas added.

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