City urges water conservation as rationing looms; 3-wheel vehicles seized in crack-down; Air quality remains marginal; Pet Hospital to be remodeled

Viernes, 2/8/2024

Hola, Todos –

I will be taking a 2-week vacation starting el lunes, 8/9 and resuming translating el 23/9.

Actividades –

Festival de Artes (Arts Festival) – The 9th edition of the Festival de Artes para Niñas y Niños “Lirón Lirón: Abrazar con la Mirada” will be on los 7 & 8/9. The festival will start el sábado a las 16:00 with “Mishki” from the Ukumbi Theater (Ecuador), and it will move to CIDAP el domingo starting at 10:00 with a book exchange. <No mention of where the festival will be el sábado – just that it will move on el domingo.>

Titular –

Cuenca’s municipal utility ETAPA is asking resident to reduce water consumption in their homes by at least 20% as a result of the ongoing drought. (El Mercurio)

Humo de incendios ca Cuenca (Smoke from fires darkens Cuenca) – According to the Instituto de Estudios de Régimen Seccional del Ecuador (IERSE) <Is there any government in the world that doesn’t have alphabet soup agencies?>, the air quality in Cuenca was harmful on Thursday, with fine particles reaching a concentration of 151 PM2.5 at one point. At levels of 0-50 PM2.5, air quality is good; from 51-100, intermediate; from 101-150, unhealthy for sensitive or susceptible groups; from 151-200, unhealthy>; from 151-200, very unhealthy; and from 301-500, dangerous. <Maybe anything over 500 is immediately lethal?> The particles are a product of ash and smoke from the forest fires. IERSE recommends that sensitive people limit their exposure to outside air, and the general population should limit prolonged effort outside. <Hard to do if your work is agricultural.>

Air quality readings were mostly in the “good” range Friday and remained so Saturday morning, with a PM2.5 reading of 42 at noon.

Juan Pablo Chicaiza, a pulmonologist, said that breathing this polluted air can cause coughs, difficulty breathing, chest and head pain, asthma attacks, fatigue, tachycardia, and more. He said those at most risk of becoming sick are seniors, pregnant women, minors and patients with pre-existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. He recommmended using sunglasses to avoid eye irritations, contact lenses, and clothing that covers your skin. He also recommended washing food, especially fruits and vegetables. Alfredo Rodríguez, an environmental engineer, explained that predicted environmental conditions for the next 7 days are favorable for the forest fires to continue. There will be a low probability of rain, high temperatures which could reach 32 C, and wind.

De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/9 (1 article):
Listo plan en caso de racionamientos (Plan ready in case of rationing) – After 54 days of drought, the river flows have been reduced to the following levels: the Tomebamba from 6.5 cubic meters per second to .69 cu.m/s; the Yanuncay from 6 to 1.48; the Tarqui from 3.5 to 1.43 and the Machángara from 4.5 to 1.59. <The Tomebamba is almost empty. Very scary. Do any of you really old timers remember if it looked the same in 2010?> ETAPA has a an emergency plan for rationing if the conditions don’t improve. Mayor Zamora announced that it has divided the city into 110 subsectors which could have shutoffs between 6 and 8 hours a day. <Sounds like some of you are ready for this and will sail through only mildly inconvenienced. The rest of you better find a spot in the back yard to do your business. Stock up on poop bags or a shovel.>

For now, ETAPA has asked the population to reduce water consumption in their homes by at least 20%, and it has started a campaign called “Una mano por el agua.” <And yes, despite the o ending mano is feminine, and el agua is used because when pronounced it sounds better than la agua.> ETAPA is suggesting collecting the shower water until it runs hot and using it for other domestic tasks <like flushing the brown down>. When you brush your teeth, turn off the water and use a glass. Don’t use potable water to wash patios, vehicles and other articles <like the dog?>. This campaign also includes “Acciones que no Ayudan” (Actions that don’t help) which publishes photos in social networks of people who have been caught wasting water, washing cars, etc.

According to Rigoberto Guerrero of ETAPA, there is a 35% loss of potable water due to damage in the distribution system or leaks. ETAPA is asking people to check their water connections and pipes to prevent leaks. Guerrero said that to end the drought, there needs to be 10 days of steady rain to recover the river flows. Ana Cecilia Salazar, a sociologist and professor at the U. of Cuenca, said in 2030, water demand for human consumption will be at 4,160 liters per second. The total requirement after adding in irrigation and environmental flow will be 7,397 l/s which means the city will have a 1,671 l/s deficit.

By 2025, with a population of 1,035,000, water demand will be at 4,453 l/s and the deficit could grow due to misuse. Salazar’s analysis says that Latin America is confronting sustainability problems that will be critical by 2025: loss of páramos, disappearance of the agricultural frontier, uncontrolled urbanization and more. <A world wide disaster like another Irish potato famine would solve a lot of problems.>

Cuenca –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/9 (1 article):
La circulación de tricimotos y mototaxis “está prohibida” (The circulation of tricycles and motorcycle cabs “is prohibited”) – La Empresa de Movilidad (EMOV EP – Mobility Company) of Cuenca said that the use of tricycle motorcycles and motorcycle cabs (Tri-motos) and other 3 wheeled vehicles is prohibited in the city. Since marzo, 14 have been seized. According to a national transit law, these are used commercially. The law establishes that cities have the power to restrict or authorize these 3 wheelers which are common along the coast. Cuenca is in the process of publicizing the Ordenanza de Movilidad Activa y Micromovilitdad for the canton which establishes regulations for microvehicles. This will allow for the control of scooters, twikes, electric monopatines (skateboards – your word for the day), electric or fuel powered bikes, mini-autos, segways, hoverboards, electric skates (?), longboards, unicycles and more. <They all sound like accidents waiting to happen – especially if I’m the one trying to ride one.>

Actualidad –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/9 (1 article):
Remodelarán el Hospital de la Mascota (Pet Hospital to be remodeled) – The Hospital Municipal de la Mascota will be remodeled and include new services of imaging, traumatology, and a laboratory. Carlos Orellana, director of the Comisión de Gestión Ambiental (CGA – Environmental Management Commission) expects the bidding process for the project to happen towards the end of the year with work starting in the first months of 2025. Mayor Zamora highlighted the first year of operation of the hospital. There were 16,000 consultations and 10,000 sterilizations, 3,000 of which were done in house, and 7,000 with the mobile unit which went to barrios and communities.

Tema –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/9 (1 article):
La caída de CRAFT, presunta plataforma piramidal, preocupa (The fall of CRAFT, a suspected pyramid platform, is worrisome) – CRAFT promoted itself on social networks, capturing people with the slogan ‘gana dinero rápido’ (make money fast). It spread through the country dizzyingly fast by promising a $30 monthly or $365 annual return on a $30 investment. The returns on a $1,050 investment were $1,350/mo. or $15,425/yr. It gained visibility with the help of influencers who received 40% of the initial investments of people who joined the platform. The platform suddenly quit operating last weekend, posting for the last time on el 29/8 leaving its investors concerned. <No surprise there. Don Naza, Bernie Madoff – only the scale of the scam changes.>

Sucesos –

Tres incendios forestales están activos en Azuay (Three forest fires are active in Azuay) – The Cuerpa de Bomberos de Cuenca (Cuenca Fire Department) <I had a sweatshirt from the Fire Dep’t that said Bombero on the back. Never dared wear it to the airport.> said that as of el 5/9, there were 3 wildfires in Azuay: Quingeo (Cuenca), the Cerro (Hill) Shiña area (Nabón), and the Cerro Cancán (on the vía Soldados-Chaucha<). The Fire Department is working with ETAPA’s park rangers to control the blazes. The change in wind direction has made the work harder.

An announcement by the Secretaría Nacional de Riesgos (SNGR – National Secretariat of Risk) reported that as of el 5/9, there were 11 active fires in Ecuador with 2 in Cotopaxi, 3 in Azuay, 3 in Loja, 1 in Pichincha, 2 in Imbabura, and 1 in Chimborazo <makes 12, but who’s counting?> The largest fire, now controlled, is in Loja near the Peruvian border where 7,600 hectares of pastures, grassland, crops, and pine forest were burned.

De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/9 (1 article):
Asesinan a director de cárcel de Sucumbíos (Sucumbios prison director murdered) – The director of the prison in Sucumbíos was murdered el 3/9 on the vía to Coca. 3 administrative officials of the Centro de Privación de Libertad (CPL) Sucumbíos N.° 1 were victims of an armed attack. The director died and the two others were injured. The Servicio Nacional de Atención Integral a Personas Adultas Privadas de la Libertad y a Adolescentes Infractores (SNAI – The National Service of Comprehensive Attention to Adults Deprived of their Liberty and Adolescent Offenders) is coordinating investigations with the Policía Nacional.

Nacional –

“No la podemos destituir (a Rosa Argudo) de IESS” (“We cannot dismiss her (Rosa Argudo) from IESS”) – In spite of irregularities in the operation of Rosa Argudo having been made public, the senior director of the Sindicato Nacional Único de Obreros del Instituto Ecuatoriana de Seguridad Social (Sinduoiess – IESS workers’ union), the institution can’t intervene or sanction, much less remove her from office until the law finds her culpable. Eduardo Peña, president of the Board of Directors of IESS said “our hands are tied” since to this moment, it cannot be determined if her actions merit a sanction or dismissal. Issues include hiring a dozen family members in different units of the IESS with only a daughter and daughter-in-law who held leadership positions now separated from IESS. The others went through a competitive hiring process, winning the jobs on their merits.

The president of the IESS said that Argudo, who is a nurse in the “Jose Carrasco Arteaga” hospital, could not be fired from her job without legal cause. She could be dismissed only if the Prosecutor’s Office shows irregularities in the management of funds. Likewise, she can’t be removed from her position in the Union since that isn’t within the powers of the IESS. Peña said the union issue is waiting for a resolution from the Ministerio del Trabajo which can decide if Argudo stays as the Union director or is replaced.

Reinicio de la atención de SOLCA (Restarting care at SOLCA) – Over a year ago, SOLCA in Cuenca stopped taking new patients referred by IESS because IESS is in arrears in their payments to SOLCA. IESS and SOLCA have reached an agreement to make the $6 million payment that IESS so that new patients can be treated. To date, IESS has paid $2 million with balance of $4 million to be paid in monthly installments of $1 million.

And that’s all for today so hasta el 32/9.

Jeanne