Uncertainty and the smell of fuel still runs through the streets of the Benito Juárez mayor's office in Mexico City. Two weeks have passed since the neighbors issued the alert about the powerful and strange smell of the drinking water that reached the taps of their homes. 15 days after the first signs of water contamination in the area, the Government of Mexico City and the Water System (Sacmex) still cannot answer the most essential question to the neighbors: What substance is the water contaminated with? water? The authorities have already closed a well in the Álvaro Obregón mayor's office that was allegedly contaminated and would have dispersed the water, however, the first results of the investigation around this point have been inconclusive.
A week ago, the Government of Mexico City started a deployment to help residents that includes cleaning cisterns and water tanks, distributing jugs of water, and sending pipes with thousands of sanitized liters. But the lack of an answer about the origin and type of contamination has led residents to protest by closing Avenida Insurgentes, one of the busiest road arteries in the capital, to pressure the authorities and get answers. Knowing what substance the water is contaminated with, residents say, would help them take better sanitary measures. Some are even considering taking legal measures.
Martí Batres, head of government of the capital, explained to the press this weekend that the investigation into water contamination is still ruling out hypotheses. “Possibilities are being ruled out through the corresponding technical investigation, and this technical investigation will continue to be carried out, Pemex helps us and there are other areas that are helping this investigation that will continue,” he said in a press conference. . Batres has relied on studies carried out by some media and individuals, which do not show any anomaly in the water, to minimize the damage that the neighbors claim.
It took more than a week for the capital's government to recognize that the water was contaminated. Finally, after several days they announced that traces of oils and lubricants were found, but they did not determine the specific substance. The announcement was followed by the closure of a well in the Alfonso XIII neighborhood in the Álvaro Obregón mayor's office. Authorities have identified the site as the source of contamination, although they have not ruled out other sources. Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has entered into the investigation to determine if any of its facilities – a pipeline is located 500 meters from the well – has anything to do with the matter. The first results have only confirmed that the water is contaminated and that the substance could be a petroleum derivative.
“Petróleos Mexicanos has carried out new tests, determining the presence of a mixture of different oils and other degraded components, confirming that it is a substance belonging to the family of oils and lubricants. It is important to note that, to reach this conclusion, such detailed studies had to be carried out that they show the very low concentration of this compound in the water, undetectable in the first tests," explained Javier González del Villar, Logistics director of the state oil company. The first reviews by the oil company rule out a crack, leak or clandestine tap in the pipeline near the well.
The contamination of water in the Benito Juárez mayor's office occurs in the middle of the electoral campaign. The residents of the affected area will vote on June 2 for all public positions related to their municipality, from president of the Republic to local deputy, so a good part of the tension has focused on the friction between politicians and officials. The mayors of Benito Juárez, Miguel Hidalgo and Álvaro Obregón – all opposition members – have demanded that the federal government issue a declaration of emergency, while the local government accuses the opponents of promoting the mobilization of residents against the authorities.
The Water System is cleaning the pipe network in the affected neighborhoods, as confirmed by Batres. The head of Government has insisted that in a few days the smell will subside and the water will run clean again. “The smell reported last week is no longer perceived in several homes. However, in other houses the smell remains because the affected water has not yet been completely removed from the pipes and cisterns of houses and buildings. In any case, the reported smell has already started to go away,” he said with a perspective focused on the future, rather than on resolving the insistent questioning from the neighbors.