Frontera NorteSur, September 1999

U.S. Blamed For Colonia Flooding

The U.S. water authorities are being blamed for the damage that August's rains caused to many residents of colonias in Cd. Juárez. It has been alleged that excessive flooding in the border region was due to the opening of dams in southern New Mexico, and a large part of the problem is that Mexican officials were not informed of the decision.

However, according to Ken Rakestraw, chief of the accounting division for the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, officials said they did notify their Mexican contacts that the gates at both the Elephant Butte and El Caballo damns would be opened. But word of the high river levels and damn openings did not get to Cd. Juárez officials according to Alma Figueroa, general director of the Juárez city ecology and civil protection department. "My office never received any notice. We are in talks with U.S. offcials now to keep this from happening again."

Numerous families in Anapra's Felipe Angeles and Ladrillera de Juárez colonias were displaced from river water pouring into their residences. Three to four inches of rain fell within days and water rose in streets up to 15 inches. Many homes, furnishings and other possessions were destroyed.

Source: El Norte, El Paso Times

New Project Recycles Organic Waste

A new recycling system was introduced in August to the border region with the installation of ecologically safe port-a-potties in colonias around Cd. Juárez. The program aims to use the environmentally safe method, "sirdo," to decrease health problems caused by fecal waste.

According to Josefina Mena, the creator of ecological units, sirdos allow the decomposition of organic material through solar energy. The sun helps eliminate the excess moisture which assists in maintaining a temperature where the good bacteria is able to destroy the bad bacteria. The sirdos do not allow the harmful bacteria, those that cause intestinal disease, to pass into the top soil or the deeper soil, and instead theycollect in a container which can be regularly emptied and used in composting.

This project "When Water Works For Health," has been funded by the University of Texas at El Paso, the Paso del Norte Foundation, and the Agua 21 Civil Group. Many other NGOs have assisted the project in identifying the families and neighborhoods most in need of assistance.

The first ecological port-a-potty was used in Cancún México in 1979 and since then 27 Mexican states have utilized this system. According to Mena, this project hopes to install 300 sirdos in Cd. Juárez, currently there are 14 in place.

Source: El Diario

Air Pollution Alerts Sounded On The Border

August was a dangerous month for the border region as the environmental authorities of Cd. Juárez and El Paso activated numerous pollution alerts and predicted continued high levels of air pollution for the area due to the high temperatures and lack of wind.

Both the Clean Air Association and the Department of Air Quality put out warnings to residents to protect themselves and avoid activities that increase the ozone levels in the air. "Do your part to keep the air clean!" said an official notice from the Air Quality Programs Coalition for Clean Cities in the North Zone.

The agencies have fourteen monitors used to gauge ozone pollution throughout the El Paso, Cd. Juárez and Doña Ana County areas which are watched regularly. The ozone layer being watched is close to the ground, and is commonly known as "smog" versus the high layer ozone in the atmosphere which blocks the ultraviolet rays of the sun. The smog is a result of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides reacting with each other when the weather is right.

And according to the environmental groups, the weather conditions were perfect for the creation of smog. The increased temperatures, intensity of the sunlight, the absence of wind and the pollution from vehicles were the main causes of ozone concentration which make the indexes soar as they did on August 7 and 10 and 12. The mountains in the area also tend to serve as a trap for the polluction. However, the record has not exceeded the norm according to municipal authorities.

Texas Department of Transportation has posted signs on I-10, a major thoroughfare in the border region, alerting people to the current dangers. During the high ozone level days it is recommended that people take the following precautions:

•Do less physical activity outside, such as walking, especially in the mornings
•Use public transportation or car pool; better yet walk or use a bicycle
•Plan ahead so that you can combine tasks and only have to make one trip
•Avoid using gasoline motors, especially in the mornings
•Speak with your boss about changing your schedule to avoid heavy traffic
•Avoid going home for lunch and take your lunch to work
•Don't leave your car running while waiting on bridges or in parking lots
•Wait until after 6 p.m. to buy gasoline or cut grass
•Avoid tasks that might produce polluting fumes such as painting or varnishing

Additionally, it is advised that people stay inside air conditioned buildings until after noon. "This is especially important for people who suffer respiratory diseases and for children," said the pollution warning notice.

Source: El Diario