What is responsible for the pollution of Lake Titicaca in Peru?
The uncontrolled dumping of sewage waste and tailings produced by more than 30,000 small-scale miners are causing widespread environmental damage in Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America and the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. “Everything drains into the lake,” said Alberto Giesecke, a scientist and spokesperson for Peru’s Environment Ministry. “It’s not only sewage from homes, but from hospitals, factories and slaughterhouses,” he said in comments to daily El Comercio, published Monday. “Without sewage treatment facilities, this lake is doomed.” Tucked away high in the Andes between snow-covered peaks, Lake Titicaca, which straddles between Bolivia and Peru, is being asphyxiated by pollution. According to Peru’s Environment Ministry, more than 12 million cubic meters of sewage water are dumped into Lake Titicaca every year. The city-fed pollution can be traced back to the 1980s, when foul odors first emanated from the lake and schools of fish turned belly-
The uncontrolled dumping of sewage waste and tailings produced by more than 30,000 small-scale miners are causing widespread environmental damage in Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America and the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. “Everything drains into the lake,” said Alberto Giesecke, a scientist and spokesperson for Peru’s Environment Ministry. “It’s not only sewage from homes, but from hospitals, factories and slaughterhouses,” he said in comments to daily El Comercio, published Monday. “Without sewage treatment facilities, this lake is doomed.” Sources: http://www.peruviantimes.
The cause for pollution of Lake Titicaca in Peru is the raw sewage being dumped into the lake. It is is estimated that 12 million cubic meters of raw sewage are dumped into Lake Titicaca every year. Sources: http://www.therenewableplanet.com/blogs/the_daily_green/archive/2009/06/19/lake-titicaca-full-of-peru-s-caca.
