Oliveros Slide Presentation
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Transcript of Oliveros Slide Presentation
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8/8/2019 Oliveros Slide Presentation
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HealthProblemsAlongtheLaredoBorderAfewshortyearsago,aboomingMexicaneconomyandtheworkofaveryactivebinationalenvironmentalhealthprojecthadNuevoLaredoinpeak
environmentalcondition. Thedemiseoftheprojectin1974,thepesodevaluationof1982,andagreatincreaseinpopulationultimatelyledtothedeterioration
oftheenvironmentonbothsidesoftheriver.
NuevoLaredostillmaintainsoneofthehigheststandardsoflivinginMexico,servingasamagnettoattractpeoplenorthward. Theconstantinfluxofnew
residentsintoNuevoLaredohasplacedasubstantialburdenontheirutilitiesandmunicipalservices. AgoodmanyofthesenewNuevoLaredoresidents
concentrateintheoutlyingareasoftownwheresubstandardcolonias(suchasthisonecalledCardboardTown)arecreated.
NuevoLaredocoloniaschildren,publicwaterfaucet,buckets,cardboardhouses.
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Thesesquatters,orparacaidistas,buildhomesfromwhatevermaterialstheycanfind. Oftentimes,thisamountstonomorethanwallsofdiscardedwoodor
corrugatedcardboard.
Cardboardhouserefrigeratoronitsside
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Itisestimatedthatapproximately40,000peopleliveinCardboardTownalone. Theirwatersupplyisverylimited. Infacttheymaybeluckyifthereisasingle
faucetinthemiddleofeachblock.
ColoniaVolutadyTrabajopublicwaterfaucet
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Mostoftheirhomesarenothookeduptosewerlinesandsewagefromtheseareasflowsfreelyinthestreetstowardstheriver.
RioBravo,TexasSewageonstreettruckinbackground
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Otherpopulationcentershavealsobeencreatedbysquatterssomeontheverybanksoftheriver. Again,lackingbasicfacilitiesandgenerallyinthesame
conditionsascardboardtown.
NuevoLaredohousebyriversouthofLaredoCommunityCollege
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Someofthesepopulationcentersaswellastheproblemstheycreateareeasilyseenfromthissideoftheborder.
NuevoLaredoviewfrommouthofZocateCreek
Sewageflowsfreelydownthebanksandsolidwasteisdisposedofdirectlyintotheriver,contributingtoanalreadyseriousproblemofwatercontaminationin
theRioGrande.
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NuevoLaredo
Close
up
of
river
bend
with
garbage
floating
south
of
Laredo
Community
College
SomeoftheseslidesweretakenfromaboatontheriverandIassureyouthateventhoughtheymaylookpretty,inmanyinstancesresemblingwaterfalls,they
arenot. Althoughyoucancapturethesights,youcannotcapturethesmellemanatingfromthem.
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NuevoLaredoSmallsewageoutfallspillingintoriver
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Accordingtotheirownstatistics,85%ofNuevoLaredohaspotablewaterpipedintotheirhomes,butsomegettheirwaterdirectlyfromtheriver.
RioGrandeMangettingwaterfromrivertotaketohomesituatedafewfeetfromriver. Whenasked,hesaidheusedthatwaterforcooking,drinking,etc.
Only65%areservedbysewerlines. Thisisaproblemthattheirauthoritiesaretryingtocorrectbyinstallingmoresewerlines. This,ofcourse,willeliminatea
goodnumberofpitprivies,whichweknowarethesourceofmanydiseases. But,ineliminatingthisproblem,theywillactuallycompoundanother,becausethe
volumeofsewagedumpeddirectlyintotheriverwillincrease.
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Presently,withonlytwothirdsofits350,000inhabitantsbeingservedbysewerlines,NuevoLaredodischarges24,000,000gallonsofrawsewageintotheriver
daily. Ifthenumberofinhabitantsservedbysewer linesisincreased,therawsewagedischargewillincrease. Today,thereare16outletsthatNuevoLaredo
usestodischargerawsewageintotheRioGrande.
NuevoLaredo
Colector
las
Americas
draining
into
the
river
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NuevoLaredofecalmatterfloatingontheriverbyColectorlasAmericas
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Fortunatelyforus,allofthemarebelowourwatertreatmentplantintake,butalreadytwoofthesedischargesarelocatedabovetheNuevoLaredowater
treatmentplantintake. Inessence,theyarealreadycontaminatingtheirownwatersupply.
NuevoLaredowaterplantintakesouthofLaredocommunitycollegeanddowntownLaredo
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Atleastoneofthese(about6acresinsize)islocatedimmediatelyadjacenttooneofthemostpopuloussubdivisionsofNuevoLaredo.
NuevoLaredosewagepondeastofColoniaInfonaviteastofNuevoLaredobytheriver.
AnevenlargerpondislocatedinthesouthernpartofNuevoLaredonearoneoftheirmostrapidlygrowingcommercialandresidentialareas.
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Pepenadores(Scavengers)havesetuptheirhomeondumpsitessuchasthisoneinthenorthwestpartofNuevoLaredoandmaketheirlivingsortingthrough
salvageablegarbageandbreedingcattle,goats,sheep,pigs,andchickensthere.
NuevoLaredodumpsitenexttoClubCompestre(CountryClub)pigraising. Caretakerinpicturewaskilledoneweeklaterreasonwastostealawristwatch
fromhim.
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Ourborderposesnobarriertodiseaseordiseasecarryingvectors..animals,insectsandhumansmovewitheasebetweenMexicoandtheU.S.
Laredowastetiresaccumulationoftrashpotentialdengueproblembecauseofmosquitobreeding.
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Laredo,ColoniaMexicanstyleconstruction,doglooseduringrabiesoutbreak.
The2Laredosformacommunityofnearlyhalfamillionpeople. Thisistherealdilemmaofbordersistercities. Wearedividedyetweexistasone
community,estrangedyetdependentuponeachother.
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InternationalbridgelookingtowardsNuevoLaredo
Timeisrunningoutandwemustdosomethingaboutourfuture. Ourverylivesdependonit. Itisimperativethatweformulateastrategywiththepurposeof
improvingthehealthandwellbeingoftheborderregion.
Itisnotonlysewagebeingdumpedintheriver,butawholepanaceaofenvironmentalproblems,suchaslackofsolidwastecontrol,mosquitoandrabies
controlwhichequallyaffectpeopleonbothsidesoftheborder.
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MoniescanbeobtainedtomakenecessarycorrectionsandconstructionoffacilitiesfromtheInterAmericanbankortheWorldBank. Butitisaninternational
problemthatcanonlybesolvedbyaninternationalorganization.
WestronglyfeelthattheonlyansweristorevivetheU.S.Mexicoenvironmentalhealthprojectevenifitiswithadifferentname,having2projectdirectors,
engineersinchargeof2homeoffices,staffedwithengineersandsanitariansineachcountry.
LaredoHealthDepartment