Depredation dries up hundreds of rivers, streams and lakes, guild warns

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Engineers, Architects andSurveyors Guild (CODIA) on Monday said uncontrolled depredation has dried up around600 rivers, streams and lakes, while other aquifers can expect the same fate ifdrastic measures aren’t applied.

CODIA president Francisco Mosquea said the major rivers undergoserious chemical and biological pollution, which in his view will force thecountry to ration water, and to plan and research to avert the dumping of wastewaterinto rivers and the sea, which will create negative effects on life and climatechange.

In a press conference accompanied by Santiago Water Utilitydirector Silvio Durán, Mosquea announced the second international seminar"Water and Climate change," sponsored by both institutions.

As a result of climate the country’s water scarcity hastaken a turn for the worse in recent years change, with dozens of rivers andother water sources vanished, affected by illegal lumbering and the extractionof aggregates.