Who are we?
We are a group of Mexican activists from the region of Jalisco, concerned about the improvement of the environment and natural resources in the country.
For several years we have observed and denounced the deplorable conditions to which the Lerma River - one of the longest in Mexico - has been subjected, obtaining very little interest from the authorities. So we have taken this into our own hands and that of several ecologists, scientists, professors and volunteers.
We seek to stop the contamination of the water and ecosystem, which affects marine, land and human life throughout our region. We are in an early stage of rescue and we feel the need to ask for help from all the environmentalists in the world.
Our main idea is to clean the river water by means of a very powerful organic medium: eggshells. Are you interested, do you want to know more; we invite you to learn all about it!
What is happening?
The Lerma River is so polluted that one expert has called it "biologically dead" and environmentalists have described it as "a huge stinking sewer" requiring an unprecedented cleanup effort.
The river rises in Almoloya del Rio, near Toluca in Mexico State, and flows into Lake Chapala in Jalisco.
Excess rainwater mixed with sewage often bypasses the antiquated drainage systems and flows directly into the river.
The problem is exacerbated because the upper Lerma basin is one of Mexico's most developed industrial areas, with some 2,500 factories, which produce wastewater with chemical content that further alters the river's biological balance.
There are also carcinogenic heavy metals and garbage in the water.
Environmentalists and citizens alike have demanded that the river be cleaned up because of the negative environmental, social, economic and political consequences of the pollution.
Oxygen levels in the first 15 kilometers of the spring are at 0%, which means that life cannot be sustained, leading to the Lerma River being declared "biologically dead".
According to Enrique Collado López, ecologist and consultant, every year more than 425 million cubic meters of domestic and industrial wastewater are discharged into this stretch of the river.
According to him, the 30 treatment plants that currently treat the water that flows into the Lerma are not enough to stop the damage.
However, Collado does believe that the river's health can be restored, but this requires a comprehensive plan and an investment of 60 million pesos (US$3.3 million).
Previous efforts to clean up the river by the authorities of the states of Michoacán and Jalisco, along with the federal government, were interrupted for unknown reasons.
The problems facing the Lerma are indicative of a wider freshwater crisis affecting other parts of the country, including Mexico City, where millions of people lack access to clean water.
What have we done?
The people of Jalisco have stopped waiting to save the river, and we will do it with eggshells!
Fed up with government inaction, we have formed activist groups and are testing an organic solution.
We started with surface cleaning of the dirtiest parts of the river by small teams of volunteers.
We continue to detect the sources of contamination and analyze the water to assess the feasibility of cleaning methods.
One day we decided to send out a series of messages and images through local media and social networks:
"Save your eggshells! Don't wash them! We will collect them regularly for the Santiago-Lerma clean water project."
Soon the message caught the attention of the surrounding population. Interest in cleaning up the contaminated river water was high and people started to get involved...
But, with eggshells?
This is a project that started with the purpose of obtaining acceptable water from the Lerma River and is now focusing on the Santiago River. It is non-profit and apolitical. To carry it out, we intend to collect four tons of eggshells, four tons of lime and four tons of magnesium oxide.
All of this will go into two wells near the Santiago River. The idea is to make a physicochemical mixture that will absorb some of the heavy metals and fecal matter from the wells and also return healthy minerals to that well water. We estimate that each well will provide clean water for a period of eight months, and our idea is not to do it just once, but permanently.
The mixture of the three ingredients goes into a trench dug between the well and the river, a trench exactly as deep as the well so that it takes advantage of the groundwater that feeds it.
The trench is filled with our mixture during the rainy season to ensure that it will affect the water table and thus the well.
Eggshell collection for this year will end on August 2. Two weeks later, the ditches are scheduled to be refilled.
Permission is being sought to do this on government land near El Salto, but if permission is denied, it will be done on private land. By the way, the scientists who initiated this project will come to analyze the water from these wells, both before our intervention and a year later.
The eggshell plan was originally devised by Evangelina Arias Ortega in Lerma de Villada, located 50 kilometers west of Mexico City.
There, the water from the well in the center of town was making children and the elderly sick because it was contaminated with arsenic and heavy metals. Arias Ortega became concerned and turned to two scientists at the National Autonomous University (UNAM).
Together, they came up with a plan that eventually cleaned up a total of seven wells. In 2021, they hope to do the same with two other wells in the state of Jalisco.
What still needs to be done?
- At this moment we are collecting eggshells, materials and all the necessary help to continue elaborating the missing organic filters.
- Promote a culture of cleanliness and restoration of ecosystems, habitats and natural resources in the areas surrounding the river.
- Social activism programs against business activities that continue to pollute the rivers and exert social, political and economic pressure for the restructuring of the waste treatment and landfill.
- Cleanup, restoration and conservation program, as well as reforestation of the river's federally owned areas.
What will we use the donations for?
- Costs associated with the organization, materialization, creation, transportation and miscellaneous expenses in the implementation of the activities of the volunteers in the realization of the organic filters.
- Program for cleaning, restoration and conservation of the areas surrounding the Lerma-Santiago river.
- Reforestation program for federal and public properties in Jalisco.
- Costs of the social awareness and environmental political pressure program.
We know that it is a long and very difficult road to accomplish all these activities, however, with the help of volunteers, environmental activists and with your support we will make it.
Because the whole planet and future generations deserve a better place to live and be.
We would appreciate it if you could help us share our project.
Thanks to all of you!
You can also donate directly through PayPal:
https://cutt.ly/save2lerma
We invite you to visit our photo gallery about our work to save the Lerma River:
https://cutt.ly/SaveLermaphotos
We thank you for helping us to share our project :)
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