This year, 2011, marks the 3rd year the Grupo Ecológico has celebrated “Aguas con el Rio” (Taking Care of the River). A combination of ecological awareness and a lottery.
The Pitillal River has had progressively less water over the last decade and has become a dry river bed for much of the year. Constructions are encroaching on all sides as urban sprawl engulfs the floodplain north of the Puerto Vallarta downtown area.
Most visitors to Puerto Vallarta only know the Pitillal River when they cross over the Av. Medina Ascencio traffic bridge between the Peninsula and Grand Venetian high-rise condominium developments that now block the view of the ocean.
And the lottery? Ecological consciousness is not a strong point in Mexico, but a chance to win some money is.
So, we sell tickets to see who can accurately predict which day the surface water of the Pitillal River will disappear at a location previously selected.
For a $20 Peso ticket, one can win a cash prize of $800, $400 or $300 Pesos by choosing, the exact day, the day before or the day after the river dries up. Shazam! Ecological consciousness!
Seventy-five ticket buyers have a chance to win some money and we have 75 more people looking at the water in the Pitillal River when they drive over the bridge rather than looking at the concrete condominiums blocking their view of the ocean!
Now that is what is called ecological salesmanship in the mundane world of raising consciousness.
Personally, I even have a side bet with a maintenance man at a local condominium as to who will buy who dinner on the results of when the river disappears. But, all of this lottery stuff is merely a tactic to draw our attention to an odd and potentially dangerous situation in these tropical latitudes. Odd, because we have a river without water for much of the year and dangerous because the heavy rains will come again.
The Grupo Ecologico has been taking measurements of the water flowing in the Pitillal River for 3 years from February to April. Depth, width and velocity, all carefully measured and noted to build a statistical database.
In 2009, the river dried up on April 15th. In 2010, May 15th. (Remember the rains in February 2010? You’ve already forgotten? That is why we keep a record.) What date will the Pitillal River dry up in 2011?
During the summer hurricane season, in 1998 as I recall, the Pitillal River overflowed its banks and inundated much of the area of Fluvial Vallarta (does the name suggest something to you?). Aramara and the Walmart parking area was flooded as the river searched for an outlet to the ocean. (This was before Liverpool.)
The administration of David Cuevas dedicated half the Public Works budget that year to redirecting the river into it’s current course of a straight canal from Av. Francisco Villa to the ocean, a distance of about 3 km. By eliminating the meanders of the river, conditions were created to increase the velocity of the water in the river to reach the ocean.
However, this has resulted in less time for water to recharge the underground water tables. Further, from 1998 to the present, the Pitillal riverbed has been exploited as a source for building materials and to elevate much of the property in Fluvial Vallarta, which previously flooded during the rainy seasons. (When the hotels along the north shore mention that their beaches are lacking sand, it could be stated that “their beaches are now under the constructions of much of Fluvial Vallarta.)
As a consequence, over the past decade since these modifications were made, the Pitillal River has begun to dry up earlier each year. Prior to 1998, there was water almost the entire year. Now, with each passing year, the river is drying up earlier each year. The water table in the area has begun to drop. Evidence of this is that some of the wells of SEAPAL (Puerto Vallarta Municipal Water Department) that are closest to the ocean are beginning to draw an increasing amount of salty water…salt water invasion.
When the Ecology Group began the project of “Reforestation with Responsibility” in 2003, it was with the specific intention of revitalizing the Rio Pitillal.
Planting trees helps conserve the ground water.
Besides, a river without water isn’t much of a river. Moreover, when we have the next hurricane in Puerto Vallarta, and the question is “when” not “if” in tropical climes, the river will, once again, serve the purpose for which Nature designed it, an unobstructed outlet to the ocean.
Included in this project of continuing with the reforestation along the river, the Ecology Group proposes that both sides of the river from the ocean to Playa Grande, a distance of 6 kms., be declared a linear park for walking, running and bicycle use.
The resulting green area will not only provide a much needed green area for Puerto Vallarta, but would allow an alternate route for non-motorized transport (bicycle path), a buffer zone between the river and construction and an attractive location for both tourists and locals.
The Pitillal River is only one of the important rivers in Puerto Vallarta. The Ameca, Cuale, Mismaloya and Horcones rivers are also in need of attention and care. The Grupo Ecológico invites all neighbors in the area of these rivers and any other arroyos to begin their own reforestation project.
When the summer rains come, you may find that “taking care of your river” has been one of the best investments you have made.
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