On Wednesday, Gov. Alfonso Durazo said his government is already taking steps to resolve serious sewage spills caused by years of neglect in Guaymas, Sonora.
He was responding to local reporters who questioned him about KJZZ’s Fronteras desk reporting project "Aguas Negras," which detailed the health and environmental problems caused by a deteriorating sewage system that frequently sends raw sewage running through the streets, onto beaches and into the Sea of Cortez.
"We are already working to create a solution. We are aware that there is a historic issues, that the drainage system is obsolete. We can't nor do we want to hide that," he said. "But in our concern, we've already asked the president for support to build a solution given the urgency of the situation."
The Mexican government has promised nearly $240 million for port modernization projects in Sonora, including at the sea port in Guaymas. Durazo says renovations to the failing sewage system will be paid for as part of that project, and will include an oxidation lagoon and eventually a sewage treatment plant on the north side of the city.
