Stream Turns Red in Las Lajas, Honduras; Residents Told Not to Drink or Use the Water
The mayor blames residue from barrels washed at a carwash. Neighbors fear it could reach a river used for farms and fish ponds.
See where this is ›LAS LAJAS, Honduras —
A stream in the Suyapa neighborhood of Las Lajas, in Honduras' Comayagua department, turned red Oct. 31, and national disaster officials have told residents not to drink or use its water until it is shown to be safe, El Heraldo reported.
Las Lajas Mayor Manuel de Jesús Urbina said the color came from washing barrels that had held paint and other chemicals at a local carwash. By his account, a drainage pit overflowed and carried the residue into the stream. The carwash owner told municipal officials it was an accident, according to El Heraldo.
Honduras' disaster agency, Copeco, posted its warning on X on Nov. 1 and called it a preventive step to protect public health. A team from Copeco's national environmental risk office, the natural resources and environment ministry, Serna, and local authorities was due at the site Monday, Nov. 2, to inspect it and begin technical tests of the water.
Residents worry the runoff could reach the Yunque River, which is used for farming and fish ponds. El Heraldo also reported that coffee growing and a bathing area downstream could be harmed. Local officials said they would work to determine who is responsible.
What we don't know yet: Which chemicals were involved. An earlier El Heraldo headline named sulfuric acid, but the article itself referred only to an unspecified chemical, and the mayor's later account named paint and other chemicals. Test results, any effect on health or on the Yunque River, and when the warning will be lifted have not been reported.
