A confidential scientific investigation by a leading oceanographic institute reveals the contamination of Tulum’s cenotes with wastewater from the area’s luxury hotels and real estate developments.
The report, obtained by La Verdad Noticias, is dated within the last three months and details the results of sampling in the most popular and hydrologically connected cenotes in the Tulum area.
The findings indicate high levels of fecal coliforms: “Unequivocal indicators of contamination with human fecal matter, exceeding the permitted limits for recreational human contact by up to 400% in some places,” the study states.
Likewise, pharmaceutical and personal care compounds, such as ibuprofen and chemicals from sunscreen and cosmetics, are present, “acting as direct markers of untreated domestic wastewater,” the report indicates.
On the other hand, it highlights the presence of nitrates and phosphates and explains that they are “nutrients from detergents and other cleaning products, which cause a phenomenon known as eutrophication, which depletes the water of oxygen and kills aquatic life.”
The report concludes that the contamination is likely caused by “the infiltration of poorly treated or untreated black and gray water,” which would come from “absorption wells and overloaded treatment plants at hotel complexes and real estate developments in the area,” according to La Verdad Noticias.
The biologist who participated in the investigation, who remains anonymous to the aforementioned outlet, stated that “it is the worst-kept secret in Tulum. They are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs and selling a toxic fantasy. What you see on the surface is a lie. The subsoil is a sewer that flows slowly into the sea, destroying the reef along the way.”
Source: reportur
