Farmers from San Diego Chalma recognize the problem that exists with the use of wastewater in the fields, pointing out that this is the only way to continue planting because there is little irrigation water and what there is is too expensive; although the planting of vegetables is prohibited, they pointed out that there are those who risk doing so.
After activists exposed the serious contamination generated by the 19 million cubic meters of wastewater produced daily, the issue of planting vegetables with contaminated water is once again an issue that farmers recognize exists, although they say that it is a small part and that those who do it do so out of necessity.
After questioning the producers about this problem, they mentioned that a large part of the inhabitants of the town who live in the countryside have used this resource, because there is little clean water that reaches the area, and although years ago the waters were not so contaminated, today the liquid arrives colored due to the discharges made by denim laundries.
Former auxiliary president Miguel Ángel Llanos, who is also a farmer, said that all farmers know that the State Health Department has prohibited the planting of any kind of vegetables in this area for years due to contamination, so most of them plant tall crops, such as corn and seasonal plants.
As far as he knows, there are nurseries that use clean water, which is where squash and cucumbers are grown, but it is rare to find this type of crops that use this contaminated water, although he does not rule out that there could be some; he said that unfortunately irrigation water is very limited and the hours of it are very expensive.
