Water with arsenic is of great concern for several communities in Bagaces, Cañas, La Cruz and San Carlos.
The communities have filed several complaints in the Department of Protection of Citizens’ Rights and now the organism is evaluating the villages in the area, where the residents denounced a lack of guidance of the Ministry of Health as well as the high costs of water service after the installation of treatment plants and the lack of response to their requests.
They also expressed little confidence on the quality of the water they consume, because of the bad conditions of the tanks, suspension of service without notice and the lack of CCSS’ proper care and trained staff to look after their health problems, that might be associated with the consumption of water with arsenic.
People are also worried because drinking water with arsenic may lead to the chronic kidney disease (CKD).
According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of Norway, among the causes of premature death in Costa Rica in 1990, the CKD occupied the seventeenth position and in 2013 it occupied the fourth place, an increase of 151%.
On this regard, the Department of Protection of Citizens’ Rights will check existing studies on the causes of the presence of arsenic in the water, due to the great number of complaints from citizens.