The Bogotá River, located in the Cundiboyacense highlands, is one of the most important in the department of Cundinamarca and the main river channel of the Bogotá savannah.
However, despite its relevance, this body of water has become a benchmark for pollution and environmental problems. This situation is worrisome, considering that although it does not have navigable waters and does not cross the urban area, it does run along the western limit of Bogotá, being the main water system for the city and the savannah.
Under this premiseTHE NEW CENTURY asked the candidates Rodrigo Lara, Juan Daniel Oviedo, Jorge Enrique Robledo, Jorge Luis Vargas, Diego Molano, Carlos Fernando Galán and Nicolás Ramos their strategies to recover the Bogotá river. This medium tried to contact the candidates Gustavo Bolívar and Rafael Alfonso Quintero, without obtaining a response.
The tender for the Canoas WWTP must be brought forward quickly: Rodrigo Lara
Bogota has been an environmental failure in terms of garbage and has been a failure in terms of sewage discharges. It is incredible that a city of 8 million inhabitants continues to dump its sewage into a river, that is a crime.
One must not exploit the land, one must take care of it and I am going to take care of the environment. The tender for the Canoas plant must be brought forward very quickly and protect the river, but not only the Bogotá river, but also the Tunjuelito river, which receives all the leachate from a city that buries 8,000 tons of garbage daily, because those garbage contracts, that people end up granting these contracts simply so that they bury the garbage and not process it.
We will focus on strengthening control over discharges: Juan Daniel Oviedo
Faced with the recovery of the Bogotá River, it is important to highlight that the environmental sanitation policy is covered by a 2014 State Council ruling, the product of a class action that orders the design and implementation of measures to correct the pollution problem. and avoid its repetition in the future.
To comply with this mandate and recover the Bogotá River, as well as its tributaries, the Fucha River and the Tunjuelo River, we will focus on strengthening the control of the discharges generated by all users of the city’s water resource to reduce the pollutant loads discharged. .
In addition, we will effectively monitor the construction of the Canoas Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR), currently in the detailed engineering design stage, which should come into operation in 2028.
The success of the process includes carrying out a socially and environmentally friendly management for the decontamination of the river, which has a favorable impact on the flora and fauna, and benefits the population that lives or works near the tributary. This makes it possible to guarantee the rights related to water and the enjoyment of a healthy environment, as well as the conservation of animal and plant species, and the defense of the public and cultural heritage of the Nation.
I get to continue things that are good: Jorge Enrique Robledo
You have to move forward in everything that is planned. Part of the problem in Bogotá is that there are mayors who do not continue with the plans of their predecessors.
I get to continue things that are good, I get to move forward with them. If there is something that is not right, then it will have to be modified, but I am not going to fall into the pettiness that because a project was being built by a previous mayor’s office, then that project does not matter to me. No way. It is a solemn commitment of mine to finish all the works that are in development by the previous mayors.
We will review the current status of the works in charge of the District: Jorge Luis Vargas
First of all, we promise to carry out a rigorous monitoring of the sentence issued by the Council of State on March 28, 2014, related to the decontamination of the Bogotá River. We will review the current status of the works in charge of the District and we will validate the effective follow-up and the adequate execution of the resources invested by the people of Bogotá.
As an integral part of our environmental policy, we are committed to implementing effective measures so that the Bogotá River stops receiving discharges from the region. We consider it essential to address this problem so that the decontamination process is truly effective and lasting over time. We will work closely with companies and other entities to promote more sustainable and responsible practices, preventing pollution from persisting and negatively affecting the river.
We will guarantee the construction of at least one linear forest: Diego Molano
The Bogotá River will be the heart of the Bogotá savannah. With the commissioning and execution of the Canoas plant, the decontamination of the river will be guaranteed. We will guarantee the construction of at least a linear forest of 20 kilometers around the tributary and then developments especially in the towns of Kennedy, Fontibón and Bosa, projects especially for the location of industries, giving ICA discounts to those who generate employment for young people and women in that western edge of the city.
The Bogotá river will be the great space for the development of the city, a sustainable space that in the next 500 years will be the center of the savannah.
Carlos Fernando Galan
The construction of the Canoas WWTP is essential for the recovery of the Bogotá River, but it is not enough. We must advance in all the actions that allow us to comply with the sentence of the river. This is a regional issue that we must work on together, especially in relation to watershed care. The health of the river depends on the health of the basin.
This implies intervening positively in the conservation of the ecosystems that have a role in the hydrological cycle of the river, the páramos, the wetlands, the high Andean forests. The problem is due to the fact that the importance of treating wastewater has not been taken into account. The city was built and the rainwater was not separated from the sewage
It is also necessary to work with the municipalities that are part of the river basin and it is essential to promote civic culture so that the tributary is less contaminated.
We will work on the integration of the sewage infrastructure: Nicolás Ramos
The Bogotá River, the water heart of our city, should not be a reflection of backwardness, but rather an emblem of progress and balance between urbanism and nature. The current conventional water treatment technology in the Salitre and Canoas WWTPs, although it works, does not reach the necessary efficiency to face the challenges of a water system in a City 5.0.
We will first seek to apply state-of-the-art technology, including artificial intelligence and IoT, in our water treatment systems and in the Urban Planning Support System (SSP). The use of these systems will allow for real-time monitoring of contamination levels and treatment efficacy, which will bring rapid and effective adjustments to our water treatment strategies.
Second, we will work on the integration of the sewerage infrastructure of the city and the Bogotá River with a focus on constructive intelligence. The objective will be to minimize direct pollution and improve the quality of the river’s water.
Third, we will seek to grant legal status to the Bogotá River, the Sumapaz páramo, the wetlands and the eastern hills. Being subject to rights and obligations, these natural resources could be managed more efficiently and sustainably by the community and a special unit.