THE AUTHORITY FOR THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE LAKE AMATITLÁN BASIN

Division of Control, Environmental Quality and Management of Lakes

AMSA Internship Report – Save the Lake

AIESEC Guatemala

Prepared by: Andrew Menezes, Rebecca Blass, Katharina Burholt & Thomas Thenard

July 29, 2016

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Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures............................................................................................................... 3

Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Political Background ................................................................................................................... 6 The PLANDEAMAT .................................................................................................................. 7

Goals and Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 8 AMSA Goals and Objectives ...................................................................................................... 8

PLANDEAMAT Goals and Objectives .................................................................................... 10 Current Situation ........................................................................................................................... 12

Education and Awareness ......................................................................................................... 12

Wastewater Treatment ............................................................................................................... 14 Evaluation ..................................................................................................................................... 17

Reflections and Recommendations ............................................................................................... 19

Andrew Menezes ....................................................................................................................... 19

Biological Monitoring ........................................................................................................... 20

Vetiver for Bank Stabilization and the Prevention of Sedimentation ................................... 22

Rebecca Blass ............................................................................................................................ 24

Katharina Burholt ...................................................................................................................... 25

Thomas Thenard ........................................................................................................................ 27

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 28

References ..................................................................................................................................... 29

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List of Tables and Figures

Figure 1: Lake Amatitlán ................................................................................................................ 5

Figure 2: Proliferation of Microcystins in Lake Amatitlán ............................................................ 5 Figure 3: The PLANDEAMAT ...................................................................................................... 7

Figure 4: Investigating the Villabolos River ................................................................................... 9 Figure 5: Water Quality Monitoring of the Villabolos River ......................................................... 9

Figure 6: Educational Workshop for ENCA at the La Carra Wastewater Treatment Plant ......... 13 Figure 7: Schematic Diagram of La Carra Wastewater Treatment Plant ..................................... 13

Figure 8: Anaerobic Treatment Tanks at La Carra Wastewater Treatment Plant ......................... 15 Figure 9: Hyacinth Biofiltration System at La Carra Wastewater Treatment Plant ..................... 15

Figure 10: Overview of the Mezquital Wastewater Treatment Plant ........................................... 16

Figure 11: Aerobic Treatment using a Pumice Filter at the Mezquital Wastewater Treatment Plant .............................................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 12: Principals of the Reference Condition Approach ........................................................ 22

Figure 13: The Use of Vetiver for Sedimentation Prevention ...................................................... 23

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Overview The following report was completed by four university students over a six week

volunteer placement with The Authority for the Sustainable Management of the Lake Amatitlán

Basin (AMSA). The university students were from Canada, France and Germany, and study

bioresource, mechanical, civil, and environmental engineering. These students participated in the

placement through the AIESEC international volunteer program. AIESEC is an international,

non-government, not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership

development and cross-cultural global volunteer experiences aimed at empowering youth to

create positive impacts on the environment ad society. Through a partnership between AIESEC

Guatemala and AMSA, the students worked together on the project titled Save the Lake.

This report aims to provide an assessment of AMSA to learn more about the organization and

their goals, the work they conduct, and their progress towards restoring Lake Amatitlán. This

will include a description of the current situation as well as an evaluation in light of this

situation. Given the nature of the goals of AMSA, and the educational background of the

students, the report will focus on the flowing divisions:

• Division of Control, Environmental Quality and Management of Lakes

• Division of Liquid Waste

• Division of Environmental Education and Public Awareness

The resultant information from the assessment, which includes both research and the

personal observations and experiences of the students, was used in order to provide personalized

reflections and recommendations for AMSA including ideas for supporting projects. It is hoped

that this information will assist AMSA in re-evaluating their priorities and establish short term

goals in order to help them achieve the goal of saving Lake Amatitlán.

Introduction Located 28 km southwest of Guatemala City is one of Central America’s most polluted

lakes: Lake Amatitlán (Figure 1). Lake Amatitlán is a volcanic lake that is unique in the sense

that it has effectively been split into two separate lakes with different water quality

characteristics. The southwest portion of the lake exhibits the greatest depth and the longer

retention time, while the northeast portion is characterized by constant inflow and outflow via

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the Villalobos and Michatoya Rivers (ILEC, 2009). The lake receives its water from a largely

urbanized watershed that extends approximately 386 km2 that is home to the highest populated

metropolitan area and important industrial sectors (INCLAM, 2014). This concentration of

population and industrialization have exerted tremendous pressure on the natural systems of the

watershed causing severe alterations to its water resources. The main influent of the lake, the

Villalobos River, carriers a daily flow of approximately 437,500 m3 containing water

contaminated with industrial waste, fertilizers and untreated sewage (Calderon, 2011). This has

led to the excessive proliferation of cyanobacteria (i.e. microcystins) in the lake that is largely

inhospitable to humans and the aquatic ecosystem (Figure 2). The river also deposits close to

1,500,000 m3 of sediment each year as a result of high levels of erosion from deforestation,

mining and poor land-use practices, which has caused the lake to slowly loose volume (Reyna,

2009).

Figure 1: Lake Amatitlán Figure 2: Proliferation of Microcystins in Lake

Amatitlán

In an effort to restore the lake and its watershed, the National Government of Guatemala

established The Authority for the Sustainable Management of the Lake Amatitlán Basin

(AMSA). AMSA was created under Decree Number 64-96 of the Congress of Guatemala in the

year 1996 with the purpose to administer programs and projects to ensure a coherent policy to

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rehabilitate and persevere the water quality of Lake Amatitlán and the integrity of the

surrounding ecosystem. Projects initiated and implemented by AMSA mostly include activities

such as reforestation, environmental monitoring, and providing technical assistance and

education. The current administration within AMSA includes educators, engineers, biologists,

chemists, and more than 180 people who have been hired with the goal to improve the health of

the lake, and create awareness about the pollution and degradation occurring throughout the

watershed. However, results have been relatively insignificant despite the amount of effort

AMSA has put in over the past two decades. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in the Villalobos

River, for example, have risen from approximately 40 mg/L in 2005 to over 245 mg/L in 2016

(Calderon, 2011; Cano 2016). Although some progress has been made, the majority of the

projects AMSA has taken on have only been partially successful due to a number of influential

factors, some of which will be identified in this report.

Political Background According to the constitution, the water of Guatemala belongs to the Guatemalan people

(USACE, 2000). However, no comprehensive water policy exists to properly manage and

regulate water resources on a national scale (GWP, 2008). Although critical areas pertaining to

water resources management (such as effluent treatment), have attempted to be realized through

national laws, implementation and enforcement has been extremely difficult (OAS, 2005).

Numerous agencies have been established across Guatemala that are responsible for overseeing

water resources, but there is little coordination between them resulting in duplicated work and an

overall inefficient use of resources (USACE, 2000).

According to the Law of Development and Decentralization Councils, each municipality

within Guatemala must organize itself to plan its development which includes managing

resources and providing awareness and education to civil society (OAS, 2005).This is

accomplished through work performed by established government commissions and non-

governmental institutions. However, citizens within roles typically only have partial knowledge

of the laws, regulations, and best-practices required for the efficient and sustainable use of water

and other related resources and municipal public services (Orozco, 2008). Many municipalities

lack the necessary entities required for water resource governance (such as Municipal Planning

Offices or Justice for Municipal Matters), and the few municipalities that possess these

supporting entities often demonstrate weakness in the formulation of their development plan

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resulting in weak or no regulations (USACE, 2000). And this in turn creates operational and

administrative barriers.

As well, since government commissions and non-government institutions typically work

on water resource issues by sector depending on the use of the resource, any legal standards are

dispersed and may not applicable in practice due to lack of adequate enforcement. There are also

social and economic inequalities, and relatively little social participation in the majority of the

population in regards water resources which has contributed to further deterioration of the

environment (Orozco, 2008).The lack of laws and regulations for the efficient administration of

water resources, combined with weak governmental administration and the lack of awareness

among civil society regarding water and solid waste has allowed for the continued uncontrolled

abuse of rivers and lakes, which has caused pervasive water contamination throughout the

country (USACE, 2000).

The PLANDEAMAT According to Article 6 under Decree Number 64-96, a supervisory committee must work

with AMSA that is aimed at advancing the implementation of projects related to the restoration

and protection of Lake Amatitlán and its tributary watersheds as defined within the

PLANDEAMAT. The PLANDEAMAT, or the Actualization

del Plan Maestro Integrado de la Cuenca del Lago Amatitlán,

is a consultancy project created by the consortium

NOVOTECNI – INYPSA in the year 2013 in order to define

new objectives and create a management plan to restore Lake

Amatitlán. AMSA was responsible for employing the

consortium and it is intended that all the municipalities which

reside in the Lake Amatitlán watershed basin would agree to

the plan and be responsible for its implementation with helpful

knowledge and technical advice provided by AMSA. The plan

covers six major categories including Natural Resources and

Environment, Hydrology and Hydraulics, Geology,

Infrastructure, Zoning, and Socioeconomics, which are divided Figure 3: The PLANDEAMAT

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into several programs with different goals and objectives. A detailed action plan, which includes

an estimation of the time and funds required for the goals and objectives, is also included.

Goals and Objectives As previously mentioned, AMSA is a government organization and is thus obligated to

reach a certain goal or set of objectives set by the Ministry of Planning and Programming of the

Presidency (SEGEPLAN). In the beginning of a new period of governance, SEGEPLAN

formulates a list of goals and objectives and it is required that certain government organizations,

such as AMSA, choose one of these goals and reach it over the next four years, or until the next

presidential election. It is the responsibility of the director of AMSA, who also changes every

four years, to choose the goal. The current director, who was appointed in February 2016, has

chosen to pursue the goal of increasing Guatemala’s resilience and adaptation to climate change

by 2019 (L. Ponce, personal communication, July 19, 2016). In addition to choosing the goal set

by SEGEPLAN, the director is also responsible for creating and setting objectives within AMSA

to ensure this goal is met, and these should be related to the management plan outlined in the

PLANDEAMAT.

AMSA Goals and Objectives

Over the course of 2016 to 2019, the main goal the director has set for the institution is to

reduce environmental degradation in Lake Amatitlán in regards to the incoming load of

pollutants, sediments and solid waste, by close to 50% (AMSA, 2016). To achieve this goal

several objectives have been set in various divisions that deal with topics such as water quality,

soil erosion, waste management, environmental education, and groundwater recharge. For

example, one objective under the topic of water quality is to determine the efficiency of

municipal operated treatment plants (AMSA, 2016). These objectives are outlined in Annual

Operative Plan documents which include an action plan as well as an estimation of the time and

fund required, however, these are not as detailed as the PLANDEAMAT.

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Figure 4: Investigating the Villabolos River Figure 5: Water Quality Monitoring of the

Villabolos River Although the goal and subsequent objectives of AMSA are ultimately set by the director,

his decisions may be influenced by the representation of the different sectors involved in the use

of resources in Lake Amatitlán and its watershed basin. This group of representatives is outline

in Section 3 under Decree Number 64-96, and was established in order to maintain inter-agency

coordination and expedite actions and the application of rules and regulations. Every 15 days the

director and vice director of AMSA meet with each representative of the group which is

composed of the following institutions:

• The Department Governor of Guatemala (Chair Authority)

• The Vice President of the Republic

• The Military Commander of the South Region of Guatemala

• The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance

• The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food

• The Environmental Office of the Attorney General

• The Environmental Prosecutors Office of the Public Ministry

• The Municipalities within the Territory of the Tax Cuenca

• The National Environment Commission (CONAMA)

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• The Committee of Agricultural Chambers, Commercial, Industrial and Financial

Associations (CACIF)

• Various Constituted Public and Private Institutions (whose purposes are directly or

indirectly related to the rescue and protection of Lake Amatitlán and its watershed basin)

If technical support is required than a specialist related to that topic will also sit in on the

meeting. The purpose of the meetings is to maintain inter-agency coordination and ensure the

representatives are aware and up-to-date about important problems and projects. Additional short

term objectives may also be set but these generally have a time span of two weeks (L. Ponce,

personal communication, July 19, 2016).

Division goals, which are generally separate from the goals set by the director of AMSA,

are also established by the directors of specific divisions. For example, within the division of

Control, Environmental Quality and Lakes is the goal to achieve ISO 17025 accreditation in

order to prove technical competence for laboratory testing and calibration. With this

accreditation the environmental laboratory could start to effectively compare results with other

international accredited laboratories and would demonstrate greater certainty in legal affairs

concerning municipal effluent regulations (SAI, 2012). Unfortunately, this is a long term goal as

achieving this accreditation will require substantial money as a transfer of procedures and

equipment upgrades are required, and this does not align with the goal and objectives of the

director of AMSA.

PLANDEAMAT Goals and Objectives

As previously mentioned, the PLANDEAMAT covers six major categories which are

divided into serval programs with different goals and objectives, however, for the purpose of this

report only those projects pertaining to environmental education, water quality management, and

wastewater management will be highlighted in this section. One of the larger goals of the

PLANDEAMAT is to educate the population and increase environmental awareness though

different programs, such as program PROG-AMB01/OAMB-05, and several projects within

these programs have been suggested and implemented in order to realize this goal. One of these

projects, PROY-AMB02, suggests there should be legislation comprehensive to all

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municipalities within the Lake Amatitlán watershed basin for the integrated management of

natural resources and the environment. Additionally, under program PROG-SOC01, is project

PROY-SEC03, which aims to integrate continuous environmental education into the school

curriculum of primary and diversified level students. There are also programs, such as PROG-

SOC06, with relatively short term projects which provide residents with the possibility to take

positive actions towards decreasing household pollutants to improve the condition of Lake

Amatitlán and its tributaries. For example, project PROY-SEC14 involves a communication

campaign on the proper management of water and sanitation, and project PROY-SEC15, which

is an incentive based program, encourages residents reduce, separate, and recycle household

waste.

In regards to directly improving the condition of Lake Amatitlán and its watershed basin,

specific programs have been highlighted concerning environmental monitoring and wastewater

treatment. In order to effectively manage the restoration of the lake and its tributaries, it is

necessary to monitor water quality and the levels of pollution found within them (Almendinger,

1998). This is the objective of program PROG-AMB03, which is aimed at reducing

contamination and improving environmental quality. This is to be achieved through a number of

projects such as project PROY-AMB10. This project suggests that a variety of different samples

be collected routinely from Lake Amatitlán and its drainage system in order to monitor industrial

effluents and pollution. This includes water quality samples, soil samples from productive areas,

quantification of vegetation and aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, and bathymetry of the lake.

Arguably one of the most important programs is PROG-AGUA02, which deals with the

management of wastewater. This is important because much of the pollution present in the lake,

such as the proliferation of cyanobacteria, can be attributed to the uncontrolled flow of untreated

industrial waste and raw sewage into the tributary streams and rivers (Cottingham et al., 2015).

Thus, in order to prevent this pollution it is necessary to treat wastewater, and this is what

projects PROY-AGUA10 and PROY-AGUA11 are aimed at doing. Over a time span of 15

years, these projects include the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of municipal

wastewater treatment plants as well as storm and sanitary sewers. The program also suggests

incentives for the rehabilitation and expansion of current small treatment plants and calls for a

monitoring program to control plant effluents, which should be implemented immediately.

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Current Situation Based on the literature and reports published by AMSA, the water quality of Lake

Amatitlán is poor (ILEC, 2009; Cano 2016). The lakes main influent, the Villalobos River, is

heavily contaminated with municipal and industrial waste which has caused the lake to become

eutrophic due to high concentrations of incoming nutrients. In order to effectively determine the

water quality of a hydrological system it is necessary to implement a routinized monitoring

program (Almendinger, 1998). In accordance to regulations and the current objectives of AMSA,

water quality monitoring and analysis of Lake Amatitlán and its tributaries is conducted monthly.

This monitoring seeks not only to determine water quality but to also identify sources of

pollution, which primarily consists of wastewater outfalls into the tributary streams and rivers.

Education and Awareness

Education and awareness are critical in any environmental restoration project (Farmer et

al., 2010). Current education initiatives at AMSA include formal and informal programs that

seek to engage a wide audience range. The programs primarily focus on spreading awareness

about the state of Lake Amatitlán, as well as teaching participants about the associated health and

environmental consequences of their daily activities concerning water resources. There is also an

emphasis on what actions participants can do to minimize these consequences and contribute

towards restoring the lake. The formal programs target youth through school-based initiatives

and primarily provide lectures and workshops. For example, Figure 6 illustrates an educational

workshop held by ASMA where a representative from AMSA provided a tour of a wastewater

treatment plant and taught students from the Central National School of Agriculture (ENCA)

about the importance of treating wastewater based on the associated environmental

consequences.

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Figure 6: Educational Workshop for ENCA at

the La Carra Wastewater Treatment Plant Figure 7: Schematic Diagram of La Carra

Wastewater Treatment Plant

There are also interactive educational films and teacher training programs which educate

teachers on environmental issues and facilitate them to provide these lessons to their students.

The informal programs consist of a number of community led campaigns that target a wide

audience range on a number of related topics. These programs again focus on lectures and

workshops but there is more emphasis on the topics of waste disposal and sanitation compared to

the watershed concept, which is more elaborated in the formal programs (A. Martinez, personal

communication, July 15, 2016). AMSA is also working on a public relations campaign with

public television broadcast stations in order to spread awareness throughout the population about

the condition of Lake Amatitlán and why it is so polluted.

In terms of education for the business and industrial sectors, a new project called

Equipment Monitoring and Environmental Compliance (ESCA) has been created and will be

fully launched as of August 2016. This project consists of a team comprised of environmental

educators, lawyers, and liquid waste technicians who investigate and educate businesses and

industries for environmental control. The team is responsible for conducting facility

investigations and providing education. The educational component primarily focuses on worker

safety, controlled substances, and any associated environmental regulations, with an emphasis on

the consequences should those regulations not be followed. ESCA also spreads awareness on the

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state of Lake Amatitlán and provides information on what actions the company and its

employees can take to contribute to restoring it. Currently, ESCA is only engaged in the

municipality of Villa Neuva, and is only providing information to a handful of companies, but it

is anticipated that their work will be expanded to more municipalities in the future, and that the

team will have the ability to issue lawsuits to those businesses and industries disregarding

environmental regulations. It is also anticipated that the Public Ministry of Justice will have the

ability to intervene when ESCA is unable to perform the duties previously mentioned, and

provide consequences to those businesses and industries that refuse to allow ESCA to investigate

their sites (A. Martinez, personal communication, July 15, 2016).

Wastewater Treatment

To date, wastewater collection systems in the 14 municipalities within the Amatitlán

watershed basin are largely inefficient and not consistent (M. Cano, personal communication,

July 7, 2016). It is the responsibility of the municipality to construct waterworks for the

collection and treatment of wastewater, and the responsibility of AMSA to support the municipal

administration with technical assistance. There are currently more than 160 wastewater treatment

plants, 7 of which that were recently rehabilitated by AMSA, in the Amatitlán watershed basin.

However, less to 20% of these treatment plants are functioning, and as a result only about 10%

of all occurring wastewater is actually treated (AMSA, 2009), leaving the greater portion of

generated wastewater to flow directly into the tributary streams and rivers of Lake Amatitlán.

In the plants that are functioning, treatment of wastewater is accomplished with

mechanical and biological processes to reduce and/or remove sediments and nutrients. The

reduction of sediments occurs in sand traps or tanks such as an Imhoff Tank. The La Carra

treatment plant, which was recently rehabilitated by AMSA, is a facility that treats municipal

wastewater primarily using an anaerobic system (Figure 8). This system is able to reduce carbon

concentrations and reduce the quantity of sewage sludge that may be produced from an aerobic

system (Serna, 2009). However, this process results in the production of methane which is

known to contribute to climate change if the gas is not absorbed (EDF, n.d.). There is also an

aerobic system to treat water coming from the Plantanitos River (Figure 7), and this process

again reduces the concentration of carbon but is only utilized during the dry season. In order to

decrease nutrient concentrations, the semi-treated wastewater is then passed through a

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biofiltration system consisting of ponds filled with Hyacinth (Figure 9). Although Hyacinth is an

invasive species, and was responsible for complications in Lake Amatitlán due to uncontrolled

growth, it is an excellent filter of nutrients and is easily grown due to its invasive properties

(Sooknah, 2001). In order to maintain the quality of the treated water and protect it from

recontamination, the Hyacinth must be periodically removed from the ponds. This is because the

ability of Hyacinth to uptake nutrients decreases as the plant matures over time, and the plants

can become contaminated with other pollutants (Sooknah, 2001). Once the treated water has

passed through the biofiltration system it is discharged into the Plantanitos River. Although

considerable effort has been made by AMSA to rehabilitate the La Carra treatment plant, the

quality of treatment is still less than satisfactory.

Figure 8: Anaerobic Treatment Tanks at La

Carra Wastewater Treatment Plant Figure 9: Hyacinth Biofiltration System at La

Carra Wastewater Treatment Plant

A different process of treatment is use at the Mezquital treatment plant (Figure 10). At

this facility, the treatment process is accomplished without the use of electricity and is achieved

using only the forces of gravity. After primary treatment, which consists of a sand trap and

clarification tanks, the semi-treated water passed through a filtration system composed of pumice

(Figure 11). The landscape characteristics of the Amatitlán watershed basin have been heavily

influenced by volcanic activity which has provided an abundance of this material making it

readily available. The semi-treated water is aerated as it falls onto the filter and passes through

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the porous material. The porosity of the pumice promotes the formation of microbial

communities, or biofilm, which consume organic matter and scarce nutrient to effectively reduce

concentrations of carbon that is exhibited through reductions in Biological Oxygen Demand

(BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) (Zhu & Bates, 2013). The majority of treated

nutrients and pollutants are accumulated in the sewage sludge, which is separated from the water

using mechanical processes. Once separated, the sludge is dried under the open sun in an effort

to decrease potential pathogens found within the sludge. If acceptable, the sludge is used as

fertilizer in reforestation projects, if not, it is transported to a landfill. The treated water is then

discharged into the Plantanitos River.

Figure 10: Overview of the Mezquital

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Figure 11: Aerobic Treatment using a Pumice Filter at the Mezquital Wastewater Treatment

Plant

The Mezquital Treatment Plant Results Report for April 2016 illustrates the efficiency of

the facility by comparing the influent and effluent using various water quality parameters.

According to the report, the treatment plant is efficient in reducing the concentration of carbon

through reductions in BOD and COD, as well as reducing the concentration of Total Nitrogen.

However, Total Phosphorus, which is considered to be the reason for nutrient pollution issues in

many surface waterbodies (Cottingham et al., 2015), is not effectively treated. The plant is also

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only working at just 50% of its total capacity as the majority of the wastewater in the

surrounding area does not make it to the facility (M. Cano, personal communication, June 23,

2016).

In terms of overall wastewater management, AMSA has made an effort to recover and

increase the efficiency of seven wastewater treatment plants within the Amatitlán watershed

basin but this has been met with limited success as rehabilitation has been largely ineffective.

But even if rehabilitation was effective and wastewater reaching these plants was adequately

treated, it would still have little to no influence on the quality of Lake Amatitlán as the vast

majority of wastewater produced in the watershed basin still enters the streams and rivers

untreated. This then questions the rationale behind the rehabilitation of these treatment plants. Is

this really work that will effectively contribute to the objectives of AMSA? Or is AMSA

undertaking this work because the municipalities refuse to accept their responsibility to manage

and treat municipal wastewater?

Evaluation Although educational efforts made have shown some success in educating the citizens of

the Lake Amatitlán watershed basin, it has been overall ineffective as there are still many factors

and barriers preventing wide spread success. Currently, both the formal and informal programs

are only directed at four municipalities within the watershed basin (i.e. Villa Neuva, Villa

Canalese, San Miguel Petapa, and Santa Catalina Pinula) and these occur primarily in low to

middle income neighbourhoods (A. Martinez, personal communication, July 15, 2016). This is

problematic as the greater percentage of the population within the watershed basin receives little

to no education through these programs on how their actions affect the state of the lake,

especially those in the high incomes neighbourhoods who have higher rates of consumption and

produce more wastewater and solid waste (Matsunaga & Themelis, 1999). Additionally, barriers

posed by the Ministry of Education have prevented AMSA from integrating environmental

educational programs into the private and public school curriculums. As a result schools are

required to ask for the lectures, workshops and training from AMSA, which may not be feasible

for the school or seen necessary by the school and/or teacher. The Eco-Film project has been

established in schools through partnerships with municipalities but again this is limited to the

four municipalities previously mentioned.

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Considering the strategic objectives of AMSA for 2016 to 2019, the lack of success in

regards to spreading awareness and educating residents of the Lake Amatitlán watershed basin

comes as no surprise. Although awareness and education efforts are included in the overall

objectives, they are small components containing broad descriptions and questionable evaluation

criteria. Based on the objectives set out in the PLANDEAMAT it appears that some progress is

being made in terms of creating communication campaigns surrounding the proper management

of water (i.e. project PROY-SEC14) but the majority of the programs and projects will need

improved coordination between AMSA, the municipalities, and different government institutions

such as the Ministry of Education.

In terms of wastewater management, all treatment plants within the Amatitlán watershed

basin would need to function adequately in order to reach the current overall strategic goal of

AMSA to reduce environmental degradation in Lake Amatitlán in regards to the incoming load

of pollutants, sediments, and solid waste, by close to 50%. As previously mentioned, there are

more than 160 wastewater treatment plants within the watershed basin with less than 20% of

them actually functioning. But even if all these treatment plants were functioning properly there

is still the issue of transporting wastewater to these facilities. In all municipalities within the

watershed basin there are inadequate waterworks to transport municipal wastewater to the

treatment plants, which is the main reason why only 10% of all occurring wastewater is actually

treated (AMSA 2009). Given these statistics, it is crucial that more wastewater reach the

wastewater reach functioning treatment plants, and this should be achieved by not only

increasing the municipal capacity to collect wastewater, but to also reduce the volume produced.

Considering the number of wastewater treatment plants within the Amatitlán watershed

basin, the number of treatment plants AMSA has rehabilitated, and the budget of AMSA in

contrast to the municipalities, it is obvious that AMSA does not have the capacity to rehabilitate

all the treatments plants in the watershed basin. As stated under Article 1 of Decree Number 64-

96, the purpose of AMSA is to rescue and protect Lake Amatitlán and its tributary watersheds.

Although wastewater management is a major component for realizing this, it is not the

responsibility of AMSA to manage or treat wastewater as this is the responsibility of the

municipalities. With this in mind, it appears that AMSA is not working as it was intended to.

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Although AMSA is working towards reaching its objectives, it is suspected that if they continue

to do the work of the municipalities that these objectives will not be met.

Reflections and Recommendations The following reflections and recommendations were written by each student based on

their own individual research and personal experiences and observations.

Andrew Menezes There are many factors preventing Lake Amatitlán being saved. Political barriers, both

within and outside AMSA are a big factor. No national water laws, inadequate enforcement, and

little coordination between government and non-government actors involved in managing water

resources have prevented significant progress from being made. Although politics plays a major

role, it appears the real underlying problem is lack of education and awareness, both within the

government and among public society. Citizens within government roles typically only have

partial knowledge of the laws, regulations and best-practices required for the efficient and

sustainable use of water resources, and public citizens have little or none. It is because of this

that many of the projects AMSA has taken on have only been partially successful, as the

majority of people who live within and surrounding the watershed do not have a sense of

responsibility towards taking care of the lake and its tributaries as people do not value these

resources for what they are or could be.

Although most people see the condition of the lake and its tributaries as a problem they

do not realize the magnitude that this problem is. Research indicates that there is inadequate

water to meet many of the water demands in Guatemala City and the surrounding municipalities

mainly due to low water availability from altitude, rainfall deficit, and polluted surface water

resources (USACE, 2000). As a result the majority of water is supplied from groundwater

resources which are being increasingly strained from growing water demands, unsustainable uses

of water resources, and inadequate groundwater recharge due to deforestation and poor land-use

practices (USACE, 2000). And it is predicted that these resources will be further stained in the

future under current climate change projects as it is anticipated that the region will receive even

less rainfall (USAID, 2013). At the region is developing and utilizing water, regional

groundwater resources will be depleted, and municipalities will have no other choice but to turn

to surface water sources to satisfy commercial and municipal demands. Unfortunately, as has

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been demonstrated in this report, these sources are extremely polluted and a danger to human

health. Although treatment technologies are available to adequately treat the surface water in the

region, such technologies are extremely expensive and it is likely only the regions elite would be

able to afford this service.

Given these circumstances, it is recommended that AMSA divert more effort towards

education and awareness. Education is critical as it is extremely important that citizens become

aware about the issues they face concerning the regions water resources, and actively participate

in restoring and protecting them. This will involve changing behaviours, increased education and

awareness, and demanding political action. It is also necessary that there is improved

coordination within the divisions of AMSA and between the different actors managing water

resources in the Amatitlán watershed basin. Ultimately, the future of the lake is in the hands of

the people who live in the watershed basin.

Biological Monitoring Although AMSA has used biological indicators in determining water quality and

ecological health in the past, this type of sampling has been discontinued under the leadership of

the new director (M.F. Cano, personal communication, July 7, 2016). Traditional physical and

chemical monitoring still occurs but this type of monitoring is limited in determining the severity

of poor water quality and pollution as the impacts of these parameters cannot truly be measured

without determining the effects they have on biological organisms (Jones & Craig, 2014). With

this in mind, it is important that AMSA, specifically the Division of Control, Environmental

Quality and Management of Lakes, re-introduce biological monitoring, specifically of benthic

macroinvertebrates, as part of its surface water monitoring program. Additionally, biological

monitoring can be advantageous to traditional physical and chemical monitoring as these

indicators have the ability to measure cumulative stressors in the aquatic environment including

impacts from chemical interactions, contaminant pulses, or unknown chemicals that may not

otherwise be captured with routine chemical sampling (Reynoldson et al., 2012). As well, other

stressors such as the presence of exotic species, habitat degradation, and fluctuations in water

quantity may also be captured using biological indicators (ECCC, 2014). And although this type

of monitoring can be time consuming, it is generally far less expensive then chemical

monitoring.

21

It is also recommended that the AMSA and the division perform research in order to

develop a standardized program with protocols that employs the reference condition approach,

and includes the collection, assessment and distribution on information on the biological

condition of aquatic ecosystems (Figure 12). The reference condition approach is important as it

shows what can be expected to be found based on the natural characteristics of the ecosystem.

Previous reports published by AMSA only focused the presence of organisms and there was no

attempt to index this information or to make comparisons essentially making it useless. With the

reference condition approach, this type of monitoring could be used as a surveillance tool to

determine impacts before and after the completion of projects, such as the rehabilitation of

wastewater treatment plants, or to ensure that water quality is maintained (Phillips & Rainbow,

1993). It would also contribute to projects previously mentioned in the PLANDEAMAT (i.e.

project PROY-AMB10).

22

(Jones & Craig, 2004)

Figure 12: Principals of the Reference Condition Approach

Vetiver for Bank Stabilization and the Prevention of Sedimentation The lack of funding and little knowledge of affordable green technologies has prevented

municipalities within the Amatitlán watershed basin from implementing meaningful changes in

the attitudes of the population towards the lake and its tributaries (Calderon, 2011). One feasible

green technology that has been a proven solution to many erosion and water quality problems

around the world is the controlled use of the non-invasive grass called Chrysopogon zizaniodes,

or Vetiver (Troung et al., 2006). In civil projects, this extremely hardy grass has been used for

slope stabilization and is only about 1/20th the cost of traditional grey infrastructure, such as

concrete canvases. The roots system of Vetiver, which has been called "A Living Soil Nail" is

capable of growing up to 3.6 meters deep in one year and has the average tensile strength of 1/6th

23

of mild steel (Troung et al., 2006). The grass has also been used to extract nutrients from

wastewater and can tolerate high concentrations of heavy metals; acidic, alkaline and saline soils,

herbicides, and complete saturation or drought (Smeal et al., 2006). It is also a great pioneer

species and its intolerance to shade will allow other natural species of plants to colonize the slope

after it has established the appropriate soil structure for their survival (Troung et al., 2006).

These qualities make Vetiver ideal for slope stabilization and flash flood control as studies have

shown that Vetiver hedges planted on contours with vertical intervals of 0.5-1.5 meters can serve

as a barrier to hold back fine sediments and improve the vitality of barren slopes (Figure 13)

(Calderon, 2011).

(Calderon, 2011)

Figure 13: The Use of Vetiver for Sedimentation Prevention

Given the unique qualities of the Vetiver, and the extremely erodible and problematic

tributaries of the Lake Amatitlán watershed, it is recommended that AMSA, specifically the

Division of Forestry, Soil Conservation and Management, begin to incorporate the planting of

Vetiver in its reforestation programs in order to compliment and accelerate work in soil

conservation and erosion prevention. It is also recommended that AMSA encourage the use of

this green technology as a feasible alternative to traditional grey infrastructure to municipalities.

24

This could make more money available for more slopes to be stabilized within the municipality,

preventing greater rates of sedimentation in rivers and streams. It is also recommended that

Vetiver be used for resorting riparian vegetation along streams and rivers as this would serve to

not only reinforce the banks of the river or stream systems, but to also potentially absorb

nutrients from effluents of septic waste from neighbourhoods or people living illegally in gullies.

Rebecca Blass For my first weekend in Guatemala I stayed in a host family. They celebrated the

birthday of their son and the guests were the family like the grandmother, aunts and cousins,

almost 15 people. The host mother prepared a traditional meal with beans, tomatoes, pork and

tortillas. The dinner was like a buffet and we all used one-way dishes made out of Styrofoam.

The next time I saw this kind of dishes was in the cafeteria from AMSA. They used them to

serve the dessert, the main meal was handed on ceramic plates. The one-way dishes encountered

my dinner at the places from Guatemalan almost every single time. We have also got a lot of

Styrofoam cups to drink every day out of them. During my experience at AMSA I was allowed

to get into the work AMSA is doing. I visited treatment plants, dumps, the lake Amatitlán and

the main inflow to the lake Amatitlán, the river Villalobos. And I saw the dishes like I have used

again on the way to work, in the river we visited to take samples for the water quality, in the lake

Amatitlán and also plenty of bottles, bags and dishes made out of polystyrene at the landfill.

I was wondering why in my experience it is comment to use this kind of one-way

products in the own home even if there might be the opportunity to use ceramic dishes. With this

there are a two questions coming in my mind. Is the use of one-way products just one example

for the nascence of many people in Guatemala? Or do they already know better but do not want

or do not know how to change their behaviour?

The first question is easier to answer – the people have to be educated. Who should educate

them? Everyone who knows better and is able to explain them that the producing of waste will

influence the quality of our life. The second question is even harder to answer because this

people already have the fortune of knowledge and do not use it. There might be many reasons

why they do not stop to produce polystyrene waste and I do not know them but what I know and

I share this knowledge with the educated people is, that one-way products contaminates our

environment, the place where our food is growing and the sources for our drinking water. If I

25

keep this background in mind I have to change my behaviour to protect our living environment.

If I do not start no one will. During my time in Guatemala I learned that it is about me and that

my mind, words and action have to be phrase. If my environmentally responsible behaviour is in

line, I am credible and just after that I am able to have an impact to other people. I would like to

give this learning as an advice to the people I have met. Furthermore I think it is important for an

organisation like AMSA, who wants to have an impact in the environmental responsible

behaviour of other people, that they have an identical behaviour on there one. For example I

think it would be proper if they try to relegate the one-way dishes completely out of the cafeteria

like they replaced the plates for the main meal. So on I think they should separate the waste in

organic, metal, plastic, paper and the rest. Even if they know that this may have no or just a small

impact, for me as a visitor it will complete the image and make the impression that they believe

in what they are working for. Just with that impression I am able to be influenced.

Katharina Burholt In the end of our first week, while we were trying to find a project that fit to our studies

but could keep us together as a group, we realized that it was really hard to find the objectives of

AMSA. I got -the impression that everybody worked on their little projects without seeing

AMSA as a whole project. I even got the feeling that they do not know what the projects of the

other departments are. When people start to work here they only get a brief instruction to their

area they will work in but not to all departments and even not to the lake.

In my opinion it is very important for an organization like AMSA to be open with

information. People who work for the organization should identify themselves with it. And for

that it is necessary that they not only know what they have to do but also why they do what they

do and what the others do as well. And perhaps it will improve their work when they better

understand what happens with the lake. But also for people who do not work for AMSA and

want to inform themselves about the lake. On AMSA’s homepage there are no information about

the lake’s quality. When someone want these information he has to come to the office of AMSA.

One of AMSA’s objectives is education. I think that to give education is not only teaching but

also to make information reachable for people who want to educate on their own. AMSA has so

much information about the lake, it should be possible to make a brief summary on a webpage.

26

After a while we got to know AMSA’s objectives but in my opinion the director put them

so high. I think it will not be possible for example to improve the water quality of the Villalobos

about 50 percent in only four years like it is set in one objective. For that much more time is

needed. I understand that to put yourself high goals is good for the motivation but if you know

you won’t reach it is very frustrating. When I ask the people of AMSA if they believe in their

goals some start to laugh. With this I learned how important it is that a goal should be possible to

reach. A high goal is good for the motivation but only when people can believe in it. For me it is

better to set small goals that you can reach and show that change don’t have to be difficult than

to set huge goals that only will frustrate you.

Though AMSA has like every environmental organization not enough money that is

needed for all the projects that are necessary I saw money spent in through my eyes the wrong

projects. For example the treatment plant near San Cristobal that had last month its re-opening.

The area this treatment plant is built in is so endangered because of erosion that probably it

cannot work for more than 5 years. In my opinion the money could be better spent in long-term

projects like other treatment plants that have a longer expectancy or the improvement of one of

the working treatment plants. In the moment it is planned that the treated water of the treatment

plants is lead back to the river Villalobos. The strategy is called “dilution is the solution”. It may

not be bad if the water of the river were less contaminated and the industries wouldn’t still lead

their liquid waste in the river. But like the things are now it is a waste of energy and money to

clean the water that will be contaminated again immediately after it left the treatment plant. The

way like it is now the re-lead of the treated water will not improve the water quality significant.

Also it is frustrating for the people who work directly with the treatment plants that all their work

seems to have no impact. If the problem of the re-contamination is no solved it would probably

better when the treated water is used for other projects where water is needed for example the

reforestation.

To put it in a nutshell I learned that it is not only important to have information but also

to make it easily amenable to others, too. In another point I learned that objectives should be

clear defined and everybody who works for them should know them. The objectives should be

set in a realistic way and should improve the project also in a long-term.

27

Thomas Thenard It has been five weeks that I work at AMSA and I learned a lot of things. During these

five weeks, I learned about the state of the lake Amatitlán and its area, about all the liquid and

solid wastes that enter in this one. I saw the side effect of the pollution with the high

concentration of nutrients and organic matters. I also saw the land field, full of people that

searched some things to sell among the trashes, in spite of the danger. I also learned that the

respect and the protection of the environment is something collective and individual. Each

person is responsible of his act, but to restore the ecosystem of the lake, everyone must do the

same effort. The restoration of the ecosystem is through small acts, such as the use of real dishes

and not the plastic ones, the waste separation, etc.

I learned a lot of things but I also saw many things that bothered me in AMSA. First, the

communication. Indeed, there is a real lack of communication within AMSA. For instance, to get

the currents goals of AMSA, we had to wait until the fifth week and some people did not know

these ones. This lack of communication slows down the project. For example, there is no

common project between the environmental department and the education department, which is

unfortunate for AMSA because the main cause of pollution come from the lack of education and

awareness of the population. Then, there is the goals that they fix. At the beginning of the

project, we were given a document that explained the initial goals of AMSA. But later, we found

out these goals were not followed, but rather that each director have their own goal, which is not

always possible. The goal of the current director of AMSA is a reduction of 50% of the Lake

Amatitlán and its area. It is not my expertise so I cannot really judge this goal but, from what I

heard, it would be really difficult to achieve this goal. Besides, I would like to speak a little about

the recycling of the plastic bottles (or something else). During the AIESEC seminar, we saw a

video of a mother with her two children searching plastic bottle amid all the trashes in a land

field. The video showed the dangerousness of this work and the fact that we cannot let people

work in such conditions. So, we must recycling. I just want to say that by putting in place the

recycling, some people, like the family we saw, will lose their job, even if it was put in place for

their security. It is obvious that Guatemala must recycle but people must be aware that some of

them will suffer of this. With this example, I want to explain that it will be difficult for the

government and AMSA to put in place the good reforms but it is necessary.

28

But the thing is that I am a bit disappointed by this project because I was not able to use

any of my knowledge as mechanical engineer. Still, it was a good project and I was really happy

to have been able to do it. I learned what it really means to work with peoples with others points

of view. Indeed, I was working with 3 other people, two environment engineers and a biologist.

Their way of thinking and working was different from mine, which disrupted me a little at the

beginning. But I think it was a good experience because I was able to learn from them.

Conclusion The purpose of this report was to provide an assessment of AMSA to learn more about

the organization and their goals, the work they conduct, and their progress towards restoring

Lake Amatitlán. This included a description of the current situation as well as an evaluation in

light of this situation. Based on the research and personal observations and experiences of the

students, it would appear that progress towards restoring Lake Amatitlán has been slow and this

is because of a number of factors. It is hoped that the resultant information from the assessment,

along with the personal reflections and recommendations, will assist AMSA in re-evaluating

their priorities and establish short term goals in order to help them achieve the goal of saving

Lake Amatitlán.

29

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