By Carola Rico
The overgrowth of water lilies at the Presa Allende have created a most serious problem, and has been on public and political agendas for over a year. Atención has met with environmentalists and experts in the field, and has attended meetings organized by civil organizations intent on eliminating the water lilies, which can grow 2.5 hectares a day. In an exclusive interview, San Miguel de Allende’s Mayor Mauricio Trejo spoke about the actions that his administration is taking in this regard. For Trejo, attacking the problem of the lilies also represents great opportunities.
The Allende Presa covers more than 1,200 hectares. When the problem of the waterlilies was confronted, the lilies covered over 600 hectares of the presa. So far 100 hectares have been eradicated, which means that the efforts have produced results. Mayor Trejo explained that, depending on the direction of the wind, the lilies can move to the banks or to the center of the presa. With very strong gusts of wind, the lily can even move a few meters in the catchment area. When the lilies are along the edges of the presa they are easier to extract because quicker progress is possible.
The municipal government works with a company that has special machines to cut and remove the water lilies; they can clear three to four hectares, or 70 tons, a day. This progress, though, generates another problem: where to put the tons of lilies.
SMA is not a land of fishermen, but about 150 families fished the presa part time. Trejo pointed out that helping clean the presa provides temporary work to the fishermen as well as to Sanmiguelenses from surrounding communities.
The mayor announced that he is in talks with some concrete companies to see if they are interested in removing the lilies to use in making lilycrete—concrete made from dried lilies, which is cheaper than conventional concrete. The possibility of working with these concrete companies to build floors for homes is also being studied. Another option is turning the lilies into fertilizer. Water lilies are 90% water; the other 10% is nutrients. While the lilies absorb nutrients that may be harmful to us, they can be turned into fertilizer.
Trejo emphasized that he is not scared by the situation, because “We have already managed to reduce the waterlilies by 100 hectares in the midst of a heat wave; this means that we have made faster progress than the reproductive ability of this plant.” He stated, however, that we must monitor where the lily is moving in order to attack it to avoid extra cost to the company and the municipal government. As for having a definite date for the total eradication of this aquatic plant, Trejo stressed that there is no set time because of the lack of economic resources.
According to calculations, in order to completely eradicate the lily, millions and millions of pesos are needed that the municipality does not have. He stressed that, although the problem of eliminating the lilies is urgent, the municipality also has commitments to other projects. These undertakings include construction of roads, healthcare for the children of the communities, cement flooring programs, public safety, and water and distribution networks. He emphasized that SMA has many needs.
Regarding federal support, Trejo stated that there has been no interest from the National Water Commission (Comisión Nacional del Agua CONAGUA) to solve the problem. He added that only this agency and the federal government have the capacity to eradicate the expansion of the lilies, but there is no initiative from them to solve this problem in the short or medium term. The mayor pointed out that if in the future he does not see a willingness from CONAGUA to eradicate the problem, the municipality will allocate resources.
Regarding water lily prevention, Trejo reported that the permit revocation has provisionally been rescinded from the Jardines de Allende development. Vigilance over construction will continue, and the developer has agreed to build a water treatment plant. “In my administration, developments with drainage are over, they will have to build their own sewage treatment plant.” He stated that the drainage network does not support any more waste, and the balance has been tipped. Trejo added that the issue of the overabundance of waterlilies was the result of an excess of nutrients–going into the presa–and the lack of treatment plants for all the developments authorized by the Villareal García brothers.
Trejo explained that he is working with the state government to invest in treatment plants, since more than 180 million pesos are needed to complete some treatment plants. He noted that more than 240 subdivisions were authorized by the Villarreal brothers during their administrations. It is impossible at this point to cut off these developments’ access to drainage and force them to build treatment plants; it is a matter of each subdivision’s willingness to do so.
Finally, Trejo declared that his administration will resuscitate a treatment plant located in Parque Juárez. The cost is approximately 10 million pesos. With that water there are plans to irrigate Parque Juárez and possibly other green areas designated by Trejo’s administration. He stressed that with the help of activists, these environmental programs can be enriched. The municipality also plans to initiate the recovery and reuse of surface water.
