Journey Through the Spoiling of a Mexican Watershed

The heat of late spring is starting to set in here in Guadalajara. The kids and teachers are beginning to feel the tiring effects of it in the afternoon. We will be starting our 5th and final bimester tomorrow. It's only going to get hotter and drier before I fly up to the cool clear skies of Montana in June.

At school we just finished a unit on climate change. We looked at scientific evidence from glacial retreat all around the world (one of my favorite subjects), atmospheric carbon dioxide data, and finally at what the future might hold. Students were adamant that they could change their lifestyles in order to slow the changing climate.

Students learning about alpine glaciers.

Comparing historical glacier photos with current photos on GoogleEarth.

This got me thinking about one of the most disturbing things I've seen in Mexico: The rivers. And one river in particular, the Lerma/Rio Grande de Santiago. The Rio Grande de Santiago flows directly north of Guadalajara on it's westward course to the Pacific. I go hiking in the Barranca Huentitan, the second largest canyon in Mexico, and witness the environmental catastrophe that is the Rio Santiago. It foams with brown and white sudsy pollution and reeks of chemicals and waste. I've seen the river at various other points from hiking down slot canyons.

60 meter cascade on the Agua Azul canyon near Tequila, Jalisco (April 20, 2013). This is one of the 1000s of rivers and streams that feed the Rio Grande de Santiago.

If not for the pollution (and trash along the trail) the place could rival the most beautiful national parks of the United States. And it doesn't seem like anything is being done about it.

So I'm beginning to do some research into the matter and finding that a few, far between individuals have taken note and said something about this river. While talking with my friend Chris, we came up with something that might get the ball rolling to do something about this. Get some funding and run the course of the nearly 800 mile long river system to make a narrative film about the destruction of this beautiful river. This expedition would take over a month and require hazmat suits with respirators for sections as to not contract health problems. I think this would add to the effect of how bad this river has become.

Barranca Huentitan- second deepest in Mexico after the Copper Canyons in Chihuahua

The Rio Grande de Santiago just past the confluence with the Rio Verde.  The white stuff is pollution, not white water.

This has led us to start thinking about how to get funding-- we found the site called Kickstarter.com for projects just like ours. It's going to take a few months to get our ideas fully laid out, but the basic premise will be as follows:

'Journey Through the Spoiling of a Mexican Watershed' by Sam Morrison and Chris Garcia
-An expeditionary movie on one of the most important and most polluted rivers in Mexico, the Lerma/Río Grande de Santiago river system.

The Lerma/ Rio Grande de Santiago river system stretches for nearly 1,300 km (790 mi) making it one of the longest rivers in Mexico. It lies in central mexico, providing for large populations in the states of Mexico, Michoacan, Guanajuato, Jalisco and Nayarit. 

Historically this river has been one of the most polluted and misused rivers in Mexico. Under-treated wastewater is dumped directly into the river. Along with untreated waste, the Lerma/ Santiago receives the by-products from pulp and paper mills, leather processing plants, petrochemical and chemical plants. There are also fertilizers and chemicals introduced by meat, dairy, and produce farms in the basin.

In the 1990s the federal government recognized the need to protect the natural services the river provides for its people. They built over 40 waste water treatment plants within the watershed. Although this initially helped curb the decline in water quality, since 2000 problems have only worsened. 

An increase in industry has contributed to loss of plant and animal life alongside the river. Mass fish kills have cropped up near population centers. Effluent is visible at the river's surface at many points on the river. No one dares to enter the filthy water. 

Chris Garcia and Sam Morrison have run rivers and made videos throughout Latin America and the United States. Our plan is to take a journey through the filthy and overused waters of the Lerma/Rio Grande de Santiago from source to sea and document the wonders along with the current situation. We plan to stop along the way to discuss with stakeholders their views of river and its place in their lives.