Potable water supply in Mompox poses risk, says Superservicios alert

The municipality of Mompox (Bolívar) is preparing for the most important celebration for that population, Holy Week, with a new alert on the drinking water and sewage service, which will also affect tourists who arrive mostly by this time.

Mompox is one of the municipalities with the greatest religious tradition in the country, so the visit for the celebration of Holy Week has become traditional, both for the Catholic retreat and the attractiveness of its processions. However, now that they will be able to celebrate the most important of their traditions again, after two years of isolation due to covid-19 in which activities were suspended to avoid crowds, they must do so with the traditional precariousness of their sewerage and aqueduct.

The Superintendency of Public Services visited the municipality last week and did not leave a good balance. The team identified that drinking water treatment plant handles high levels of turbidity, there is deterioration in some of the plant's equipment and the aqueduct service is provided in 18-hour shifts.

“The water consumed by momposinos poses a risk, according to a report by the Information System for Monitoring Water Quality for Human Consumption. Aguas de Mompox indicated that this situation is due to leaks into the network due to sewerage works in the municipality,” added the Superservicios.

The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic visited the municipality of Mompox in recent days to monitor the progress of the project for the construction, expansion and optimization of the sewage system, following an alert given by the Information, Analysis and Immediate Reaction Department (DIARI) of the watchdog.

The Comptroller Delegate for the Trade and Regional Development Sector, Sandra Viviana Giraldo, said that in October the system will be delivered in operation, according to data provided by the Mayor's Office, the Government of Bolívar, Findeter and others.

According to Findeter, despite the challenges facing the territory, the southern and northern collectors have been put into operation, which carry their waters to the pumping station and being driven to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) for the treatment and final disposal of water to the river, according to the newspaper El Universal.

Likewise, they announced that special work will begin in May at the treatment plant, which must be ready within seven months for the general sewage system to be put into operation within that period.

It's not a new situation. Since 2014, there has been a record of alerts from the Office of the Ombudsman that the water came cloudy and smelly to the homes of Mompox. The sewerage project has an investment of close to 30 billion pesos and benefits its more than 41,000 inhabitants and is developed by Findeter.

Mompox is also called the City of God, because of its deep religious tradition. It is a city of churches with seven throughout its territory, considering its dimensions. For this reason, they consider Holy Week as the most important of their celebrations and it lasts 11 days, longer than anywhere else in the country, because they carry out a daily way of the cross.

Such is religious sentiment in this town of Bolivar that the authorities declared a civic day from Friday to Sunday and issued dry law by decree since Holy Thursday, not only to avoid quarrels, but to maintain the gathering that Catholic tradition orders for the last four days of the major week.

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