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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Today's News Headlines
* Organizations escalate water, sanitation efforts - Haiti
* FEATURE: What's next for Bordo Poniente? - Mexico
* SADM to complete US$237mn Monterrey V project by August - Mexico
* IDB board to gather before Cancún meeting to fine-tune capital increase - Regional
* Sanesul investing US$134mn to expand water supply in Caarapó - Brazil
* SEAM seeking alternatives to Cateura landfill - Paraguay
* García opens US$46mn Manchay waterworks - Peru
* Petrobras signs biogas purchase contract with Gás Verde - Brazil
* La Plata recycles 10,000t in 2009 - Argentina
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* Organizations escalate water, sanitation efforts - Haiti
International aid organizations have been intensifying efforts to provide drinking water and sanitation to avoid a sanitation crisis in Haiti after the earthquake that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince last week.
"Broken sewers can contaminate areas where people live and water supplies. In addition, due to the destruction of property, there is probably open defecation going on in public places. This all presents a major health risk in an environment where people may be obliged to collect water from open, unprotected sources, surface run-off or leaks in the distribution system," international aid organization Action Against Hunger's (ACF) water, sanitation and hygiene advisor, Nick Radin, told BNamericas.
"In terms of water and sanitation, the initial response phase will principally involve water supply, excreta disposal and hygiene promotion, but could also involve vector control, solid waste disposal and drainage," Radin said, who added that 5l/day of clean water per person is required to cover basic needs.
ACF is waiting for authorization from Port-au-Prince water authorities to start digging trenches around the camps to dispose of the accumulating waste and human feces which can quickly become public health risks.
The organization's technical experts have identified priority zones for water distribution: the Canape Vert district, where some 9,000 people have gathered; and the Champ de Mars district where between 20,000 and 25,000 people have congregated.
ACF is using three large reservoirs to distribute water to an initial 9,000 inhabitants. The reservoirs are filled regularly by tanker trucks bringing clean water from outside Port-au-Prince. ACF is also preparing an additional four or five water points in the Champ de Mars area to offer provide drinking water to more than 35,000 people.
An A340 cargo plane carrying 20t of emergency supplies was sent by ACF as a response to the Haitian population's urgent need for clean water and sanitation. To further reinforce its on-the-ground response, ACF scheduled departure of an additional cargo plane on Monday with 87t of supplies and equipment, including four additional water treatment stations, 12,000 jerry cans for distributing water, face masks, gloves, and protective gear.
While these emergency measures will provide immediate access to water for the displaced, ACF also plans to restore water distribution networks by repairing pipelines and other infrastructure.
By Indiana Corrales
Business News Americas
Editor's Choice
* FEATURE: What's next for Bordo Poniente? - Mexico
January 15 marked an important anniversary for Mexico City, but it was not one that many people felt like celebrating. On the same day in 2009, the city's infamous Bordo Poniente landfill was scheduled to close. One year later, waste continues to pile up at the facilities and local authorities have nothing to show for their efforts but a series of broken promises and unrealistic proposals.
Bordo Poniente, located in Nezahualcóyotl municipality, began operations in November 1982, after a large earthquake hit the city and authorities were forced to find somewhere to dump the rubble from destroyed buildings.
The site had an original lifespan up to 2004. It has now accumulated around 75Mt of garbage, and is one of the largest landfills in the world, receiving 12,500t of garbage each day from Mexico state and the federal district (DF).
As well as being a tremendous eyesore, the site has sinkholes up to 13m deep, as well as generating atmospheric pollution from methane gas which is 20 times more noxious than CO2.
In 2009, national water authority Conagua, which officially controls the site, presented a court order demanding the immediate closure of three of the landfill's eight cells as of January 15, with the rest scheduled to shut down later that year.
The DF government, however, appealed against the site's closure, beginning a lengthy legal process that continues to this day.
NO WILL, NO WAY
Environment ministry Semarnat and Conagua have repeatedly called for the closure of Bordo Poniente. However, they are ultimately powerless against city authorities, who have two principal excuses for failing to deal with the problem: first, they claim to have no funding to close the landfill; and second, they say they need more time to find an alternative disposal site for the city's waste.
The funding issue for the landfill is certainly complicated. Experts say the closure and eventual cleanup of Bordo Poniente will carry a hefty 1bn-peso (US$78.4mn) price tag.
However, the problem ultimately boils down to the government's reluctance to allocate available resources to waste management, according to Mauricio Limón Aguirre, director of environmental protection at Semarnat.
"I think the DF government has the money but it doesn't have the political will to give that money to a fundamental public service," Limón Aguirre told BNamericas in a recent interview.
Legislators in the DF assembly authorized 300mn pesos for waste management in 2008, and a similar amount again in 2009. On neither occasion was the funding allocated to a solution for Bordo Poniente, according to Limón Aguirre.
"They haven't spent that money and we don't know where it ended up," Limón Aguirre said.
IMPRACTICAL SOLUTIONS
The government claims it is working hard to come up with a solution. However, the majority of its proposals for Bordo Poniente have involved short-term measures and none of them have seen the light of day.
Measures proposed by the DF government over the past year have included diverting the city's waste to a group of private landfills, installing an integrated energy and recycling center at the site and numerous waste-to-energy projects. And these were some of the more reasonable schemes.
Late last year, DF public works and services head Fernando Aboitiz announced that the city would begin burning its garbage in 2010 to reduce the amount of waste ending up at the landfill.
As local environmental expert Ramón Ojeda told BNamericas at the time, the idea was not a particularly good one for a city located in a valley some 2300m above sea level.
"With the erratic winds that are common in these areas, it would really be suicide to install incinerators there," Ojeda said.
WASTE-TO-ENERGY
Local authorities and private investors - including Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim - have proposed waste-to-energy projects at Bordo Poniente. Again, none of these proposals has ever come to fruition.
However, the sale of biogas generated at the landfill could generate potential revenues of 200mn euros (US$290mn), according to a study done by Netherlands-based company Green Gas International.
The study, which was carried out at the request of the Nezahualcóyotl municipal government, led to an almighty row between local authorities and Conagua and ultimately came to nothing as the municipal government failed to request permission from the UN to register the project as a clean development mechanism (CDM).
While the sheer scale of Bordo Poniente is daunting to potential developers, a waste-to-energy project at the site could be viable, according to Francisco Blanco, CDM project manager at leading UK landfill gas company Biogas Technology.
"Since the site does receive good waste input, it is very attractive for power generation based on landfill gas, despite the high leachate and water table levels," Blanco told BNamericas.
Unfortunately, a lack of coordination and often outright confrontation between municipal and federal authorities has made this kind of project unfeasible.
TOO AMBITIOUS?
The one ray of light in the murky Bordo Poniente saga has come from the city's charismatic left-wing mayor, Marcelo Ebrard.
In October, Ebrard visited the Fresh Kills Park project in New York City. Once the world's biggest landfill, Fresh Kills, named after an old Dutch word for "brook" or "stream", is now being turned into a 2,200ha ecological park, and is regarded as a model of urban renovation.
The 30-year project involves converting landfill mounds containing some 150Mt of solid waste into green spaces. Not only will the site prove an attraction for the city's residents, it is also generating 10Mf3/d (283,169m3/d) of gas, of which 5Mf3/d is sold as pipeline-quality gas, earning the city US$11mn/y.
Following his visit, Ebrard announced a plan to carry out a similar project at Bordo Poniente. The government has kept quiet about the plan since then, perhaps because the first-stage works alone on the four-stage Fresh Kills project cost some US$21mn.
SEPARATION SOLUTION
While Fresh Kills park may be a role model for Mexico City, this kind of project takes years to carry out and the DF requires a more immediate solution to its waste problem.
The answer may lie closer to home. Rather than focusing on large, attention-grabbing measures to deal with the landfill issue, DF authorities would do well to consider a relatively cheap, efficient option: waste separation schemes.
According to the head of national recycling institute Inare, Elías Vanegas, waste separation initiatives could reduce the amount of garbage going to landfills by as much as 95%.
Given that around 50% of all the country's solid waste is organic, this kind of campaign would significantly reduce the volume of waste being sent to Bordo Poniente which would buy some time for authorities to find an alternative site, Vanegas said.
Waste separation programs have already been carried out successfully in Mexico. A program that began in Jalisco state capital Guadalajara in 2008 has been successfully implemented in 310 of the city's districts, and is now being emulated in the neighboring Tlaquepaque municipality.
While a program in Mexico City would require funding and a certain amount of cooperation, it certainly beats setting fire to garbage.
NOTHING TO CELEBRATE
The anniversary of Bordo Poniente's failed closure passed unnoticed by city authorities who seem to prefer to pretend there is nothing happening.
The problem with waste management is that it is not a glamorous business - it is understandable that the DF government would choose to allocate its funding to shiny new metro trains over a stinking landfill. But Bordo Poniente is a problem that is growing by some 12,500t each day. As time passes and garbage mounts up, it will become increasingly difficult to sweep the problem under the rug.
By Catherine Setterfield
Business News Americas
* SADM to complete US$237mn Monterrey V project by August - Mexico
A 3bn-peso (US$237mn) project to guarantee potable water supply in Mexico's Nuevo León state capital Monterrey is expected to be completed in August, state water utility SADM spokesperson Elizabeth Cerda told BNamericas.
The project, known as Monterrey V, involves building a new potable water distribution ring in the metropolitan zone to deal with the city's growing population, Cerda said.
The new network will have a capacity of 3m3/s across gravity-driven networks, while pumped networks will distribute potable water at a rate of 5m3/s, according to a press release by national water authority Conagua.
The project also involves increasing wastewater treatment coverage in the area.
Monterrey's Norte wastewater treatment plant is being expanded from a capacity of 2,500l/s to 3,000l/s. Capacity at the Noroeste plant will increase from 1,250l/s to 2,500l/s, while the Pesquería plant will have a 100l/s capacity. The Dulces Nombres plant will be expanded from 5,000l/s to 7,500l/s, and the Zuazua and Cadereyta plants will have a combined capacity of 140l/s.
Monterrey V is currently 70% complete, and is being funded by a loan from IDB, through national development bank Banobras and Banorte.
By Catherine Setterfield
Business News Americas
* IDB board to gather before Cancún meeting to fine-tune capital increase - Regional
IDB's board of governors will meet before the bank's annual meeting in Cancún, Mexico at end-March to fine-tune the details of a proposal for its ninth capital increase, as well as the institutional strategy and results, Susana Sitja, senior modernization of the state specialist at IDB's office of strategic planning and development effectiveness told BNamericas.
Last March the board of governors - IDB's top policymaking body, where all member countries are represented - called for an assessment of the need to add resources to the bank's ordinary capital and the fund for special operations, its source for concessional lending for the region's poorest countries. The capital increase is expected to come close to US$175bn, or more than double the bank's existing capacity.
Last week, IDB completed what it described as a far-reaching public consultation related to its proposed capital increase, a process that began on September 8 last year.
About 500 civil society organizations in the Americas and Europe participated in the consultation process. During the period, management met with organizations in the US, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, and conducted face-to-face meetings in seven countries.
"The public consultation focused on three aspects: the bank's institutional strategy, the institution's comparative advantages and IDB's agenda to become a more effective and efficient institution," Sitja said.
Civil society organizations provided suggestions ranging from increased support for the private sector to greater emphasis on urban development, community participation in projects and an expansion of poverty alleviation programs.
"Suggestions and comments made by the civil society regarding the bank's capital increase through eleven public consultations and the bank's website are being systematized in a document that will be sent to the board of executives and the board of governors, so that they are materials for their discussions about the final structure of the capital increase," she said.
IDB hired a non-profit firm with vast experience in dialogue and consultation processes to handle the information. The bank's management has already incorporated several comments made by civil society about poverty and inequality reduction, climate change and renewable energy to its institutional strategy that will be proposed with the capital increase, according to Sitja.
By Jorge Porter
Business News Americas
* Sanesul investing US$134mn to expand water supply in Caarapó - Brazil
Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul state water utility Sanesul is investing 236mn reais (US$134mn) to expand potable water supply in Caarapó municipality, according to a company release.
The utility is expanding the water network to meet the needs of the Santa Marta neighborhood and the business district.
Around 30 new firms are planning to move into the district, the release said.
The initiative involves the implementation of 2.6km of pipelines and a water treatment plant.
In addition, the system's water tank will be transferred to a higher elevation to ensure enough water pressure to supply everyone.
Works will be completed in April, the release said.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* SEAM seeking alternatives to Cateura landfill - Paraguay
Paraguay's environment ministry (SEAM) has met with local authorities in capital Asunción to discuss the future of the city's Cateura landfill, SEAM reported on its website.
SEAM hopes to gradually begin depositing the 650t/d of waste that Cateura receives at an alternative site, and will look for a situation that benefits all parties involved, according to environment minister Oscar Rivas.
Waste management firm Empo has a contract to run the site until June 2011. While the landfill is still operating under the terms of the contract, SEAM has begun looking for an alternative site so waste can immediately be transferred there once Empo's license expires, the ministry said.
Neighborhood groups from areas surrounding Cateura have been calling for the site's closure for years, complaining of contamination caused by gases and leachates from the landfill.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* García opens US$46mn Manchay waterworks - Peru
Peru's President Alan García has inaugurated an expanded and improved potable water system in capital Lima's eastern Manchay district, the presidential website reported.
The works cost 130mn soles (US$45.6mn), and included the construction of 14 water storage tanks with a total volume of 5,250m3 of water, as well as five smaller tanks with a total capacity of 1,200m3.
The initiative also comprised of the construction of six new deep wells and the rehabilitation of another five, each with capacity of 150l/s.
Some 49.8km of main potable water pipelines were installed, as well as 166km of secondary pipelines.
Work was also carried out on the district's sanitary sewerage system, including installation of a new wastewater treatment plant and pumping station, 33.9km of overflows and sewers, and 158km of secondary sewerage networks.
The project included installing 7,773 domestic potable water and sewerage connections, the report said.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Petrobras signs biogas purchase contract with Gás Verde - Brazil
Brazilian federal energy company Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) has signed a contract with biofuel firm Gás Verde to purchase biogas.
In a statement, Petrobras said the biogas will be produced at the Novo Gramacho waste-to-power plant in Rio de Janeiro.
The volume of gas to be bought by Petrobras was not disclosed.
Novo Gramacho processes methane emitted from the Gramacho landfill, where 2.4Mt of urban waste has been buried annually for the last 30 years.
The plant has the capacity to produce 170Mm3/y of biogas.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* La Plata recycles 10,000t in 2009 - Argentina
Argentine La Plata city in Buenos Aires province recycled more than 10,000t of dry waste or recyclable material in 2009, local paper Al Día reported.
Dry waste includes paper, cardboard, metals, glass and plastic.
The local government registered between 30t and 40t of dry waste recycled per day and authorities expect to increase the volume this year by launching other recycling programs such as a plan to promote the use of organic fertilizers; battery and car-part collection; and the collection of oil used in the cooking industry, among other initiatives, the report said.
The waste separation initiative was launched by the La Plata government in 2008. The plan encourages people to deposit all their dry waste into green bags so it is easily identified and recycled and less reusable material ends up in sanitary landfills.
The initiative has been implemented in the La Plata city center as well as neighborhoods including Tolosa, San Carlos, Los Hornos, San Lorenzo, Villa Elvira, Abasto, Melchor Romero, Lisandro Olmos and Etcheverry.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
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In-deph interview
* "The government has decided to implement emergency measures to guarantee water supply"
Jack Arévalo
Manager
SANAA
Honduras
http://www.bnamericas.com/interviews/waterandwaste/Jack_Arevalo_,SANAA,/170504973
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Main companies covered in today's news
* Secretaría del Ambiente
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Secretaria_del_Ambiente-SEAM/170504973
* Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos S.N.C.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Banco_Nacional_de_Obras_y_Servicios_Publicos_S,N,C,-BANOBRAS/170504973
* The World Bank Group
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/The_World_Bank_Group-World_Bank/170504973
* Empresa de Saneamento de Mato Grosso do Sul S.A.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Empresa_de_Saneamento_de_Mato_Grosso_do_Sul_S,A,-SANESUL/170504973
* Servicios de Agua y Drenaje de Monterrey, I.P.D.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Servicios_de_Agua_y_Drenaje_de_Monterrey,_I,P,D,-SADM/170504973
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