Government authorities say the cloudy water coming out of taps in dozens of Guadalajara metro area neighborhoods is a temporary problem caused by reduced maintenance during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The “dirty” water is caused by accumulated sediments and solids built up in unserviced pipes that in some cases are more than 50 years old, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro explained this week.
Intermunicipal Water Agency (Siapa) Director Carlos Enrique Torres Lugo said staff are working round the clock in three shifts to clean the network of distribution pipes. He said maintenance that would normally have been carried out over the Easter period, thus shutting down service in some colonias, was suspended to ensure that all neighborhoods in the city received water at a critical time in the evolution of the pandemic.
Torres Lugo said seven percent of the metro area’s 1,800 colonias have been affected by the cloudy water, and that despite its appearance, the liquid is not dangerous and will not produce ill effects if consumed. He stressed that the filtered water that is pumped out across the city from Siapa’s three potabilization plants is of the highest drinkable quality. However, many residents prefer not to consume water directly from the tap because of the possibility of contamination as it passes through the aging distribution network, choosing instead to purchase garrafones (19-liter bottles), or install one of various filtration systems offered by private companies.
Meanwhile, Siapa invites citizens to report any issues at their offices, at 333-668-2482 or through facebook.com/Siapagdl or @siapagdl and Twitter.