The vinasse, a contaminating liquid residue derived from the agave during the elaboration of tequila, has been dumped by the Jalisco industry for several years in the state’s water bodies, among others, the Atizcoa and Las Ánimas streams, in the Valles region. This matter has not been addressed by the authorities, while the producers justify that they do not carry out the wastewater treatment processes due to the high cost of the equipment and technology.
In a tour by La Jornada, it was detected that this happens in distilleries linked to the Orendain family, La Arenita and La Mexicana, installed at numbers 36 and 206, respectively, on Tabasco Street, where the vinasse has been dumped for years into the Atizcoa stream, belonging to the municipality of Tequila, through open-air channels.
These residues are the result of distillation, they have a high content of organic matter, a high chemical demand for oxygen and a low pH, which has caused the death of fish and other species in a river that decades ago was used for irrigation in homes.
In addition to the lack of oversight and sanctions for this case, Francisco Xavier Orendain de Obeso was named in 2018 as the general strategic coordinator of Economic Growth and Development of Jalisco, an organization headed by Governor Enrique Alfaro, of the Citizen Movement (MC) party.
Rafael Orendain Parra is another businessman linked to MC governments and held, until last October, the position of coordinator of Strategic Projects in the government of Guadalajara, headed by the current elected governor Pablo Lemus.
Among the members of this family there are also bankers, luxury wedding planners, associations and charro canvases.
The Casa Sauza production company, owned by the Japanese transnational Suntory, reported in a 2017 text (https://shorturl.at/u8KCk), signed by Gonzalo Osorio, a specialist in wastewater treatment, that it discharges its waste into the Atizcoa already diluted.
“Unfortunately, this stream is already contaminated by other tequila companies and the general population; however, our emissions help improve the overall quality of these waters.
A contaminated channel in Tequila, Jalisco, where tequila industries dump waste known as vinasse. Photo by Arturo Campos Cedillo
The tequila industry has not generally adopted this practice due to the high cost of the equipment and technology of a wastewater treatment plant that can cost several million pesos. The equipment is only the initial cost since maintenance, expenses such as electricity and trained personnel can also be high, he justifies.
In 2021, a structure for drying vinasses collapsed
In 2021, in the town of Ayotlán in the Altos de Jalisco region, a structure for drying vinasses collapsed and millions of liters fell into the Las Ánimas stream until reaching the San Onofre dam, which caused the death of at least 100 tons of fish, and the putrefaction of the water affected fishermen.
In June 2011, in the Sierra de Amula region, there was a massive death of fish in the Tuxcacuesco River, after a high concentration of sewage and vinasses from distilling companies was found in one of its tributaries, the Tonaya River.
In 2023 alone, around 600 million liters of tequila were produced and it is estimated that for every liter of the drink, 10 to 12 liters of vinasse are generated as waste, which means that the residual impact was at least 6 billion liters without knowing how many of them received some type of treatment.
Alfaro recognized the environmental crisis due to vinasse and since October of last year he promised that before the end of his administration, on December 5, the first public treatment plant would be inaugurated.
However, he announced that companies will be charged, although at affordable costs.
Source: jornada
