Tunja wastewater discharge contaminates Tuta’s river and reservoir

Mayor Wilber Salamanca Pineda of Tuta, Boyacá, warned that untreated wastewater from Tunja is polluting the Jordan River and the La Playa reservoir that supplies his municipality. The discharge has raised environmental and health concerns for residents, who see dirty water crossing their properties. The municipality has been waiting for a permanent solution to the Tunja wastewater treatment plant (PTAR); previous construction of treatment modules has been insufficient and delayed. Although funding for a new PTAR module was announced during Governor Carlos Amaya’s second term, construction has not started, leaving Tuta to cope with ongoing contamination while temporary vector‑control measures are implemented.

The mayor called on regional authorities to accelerate the completion of the treatment infrastructure to restore the area’s tourist and ecological potential.