Calidad del agua en Sayulita VS Punta Mita

Temporada de Lluvia

Ha llegado la temporada de lluvia en nuestro pueblo mágico Sayulita. Los vientos vienen y van y nuestro río empieza a cobrar vida. La vegetación se expresa a su máximo esplendor, empiezan nuevos ciclos de vida, el agua de mar empieza a tornarse de un tono terroso combinado con su azul profundo. Y por supuesto, las olas son una viva expresión de estos cambios. Nos podemos preguntar:

¿Afecta la temporada de lluvia a la calidad del agua en Sayulita?

Si estudiamos el ciclo hídrico del agua, los océanos proveen el 91 % del agua de lluvia: el agua se evapora por el sol y regresa en forma de lluvia (agua dulce), abasteciendo lagunas y dando vida a ríos cercanos al mar, como el Río de Sayulita.

El río de Sayulita es una fuente de minerales y materia orgánica para el océano (tales como hojas, ramas pequeñas de árboles, limo y arcilla) que van a parar a nuestro océano, creando así el color terroso de nuestro mar, siendo parte del ciclo de la naturaleza.

Es de suma importancia como comunidad tener mayor cuidado con nuestro paraíso, ya que si no desechamos nuestros residuos inorgánicos (basura doméstica), electrodomésticos o cualquier producto que ya no necesitemos de manera correcta, esta podrá llegar a nuestro mar.

Seamos más cuidadosos y conscientes. Y veamos que la lluvia no afecta a nuestro mar, lo que puede afectar son nuestros hábitos.

¡Tratemos de tener nuestras aguas limpias!

--Por Lucero Plascencia

Current situation of sea water quality in Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico

Sayulita is a gorgeous, vibrant town that has been considered magical because of its great diversity in fauna and flora, its beautiful landscapes and coastline and its mellow waves, internationally recognized in the world of travel and surfing. This recognition entails a great environmental responsibility.

That is why government institutions and agencies such as the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS), and the State Commission for Protection against Health Risks of Nayarit (COESPRISNAY) have continuously monitored the water quality of the town's sea.

The Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks carried out in June this year a study on the quality of seawater, resulting in 14 NMP (most likely number of stereococci) per 100 ml of ocean water. According to the safety levels established by the World Health Organization (WHO) the quality of sea water in Sayulita is suitable for recreational use and guarantees the protection of the health of users.

These results represent a process of continuous improvement by the government and the Sayulite community. It encourages the care and use of our beaches in a conscious way as well as encouraging the present and future generations the importance of the environment.

Sayulita is unique and for everyone!

Let's take care and enjoy this paradise together.

Sayulita massive beach cleaning!

300 Volunteers out to set an example

Today we are with Corona in the campaign Desplastifícate

Sayulita, Nay.

In the framework of the World Environment and Oceans days that are celebrated this month, Grupo Modelo will hold from June 1 to June 15 days focused on cleaning, restoring, conserving Mexico's water and cleaning its beaches.

The movement of Corona Desplastifícate began this Saturday, June 8, in partnership with Modelo Volunteers, in more than 25 beaches in Mexican territory. The brand works to become one of the greatest agents of change in the world by cleaning about 500 beaches in more than 23 countries, thanks to the support of 300,000 volunteers worldwide.

"It is a movement that we are creating, it is the largest in Mexico of protection of the oceans. We are a brand with a great commitment to Mexico. He was born more than five years ago; It started with cleaning days and we saw that we could make a much bigger difference: raise awareness, "said Clarissa Pantoja, Director of Corona Beer, to El Economista"...

READ FULL ARTICLE

Sayulita Changed (for the better) May 18, 2019 UPDATE - Video create by a Sayulita visitor informing the improvements in Sayulita for 2019. It talks a lot about Sayulita's river, sewage and water treatment plant.

Sayulita Water Quality May 2019 Update - In a short period of time, Sayulita has recovered an optimal health status for all its visitors. After the activation of a modern sewage treatment plant, the environment feels totally different, now we can see families bathing on the beach and surfers riding the traditional Sayulita waves. In this update, we share with you a tour to the wastewater treatment plant and look at the work made by authorities of Sayulita to provide a clean and safe beach again.

April 24, 2019 Sayulita sickness update - Check out this amazing Sayulita Review!

Incredible, Healthy Wedding in Sayulita

"Two weeks ago, my husband and I were joined by 135 guests for an incredible wedding weekend in Sayulita. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, our wedding planner notified us of the norovirus going around in Sayulita, and advised us to take precautions. This sent us into an anxiety spiral -- reading these forums, I imagined it was impossible to avoid the norovirus, that all precautions were useless, and even considered calling the wedding off entirely. We were very up front with our guests -- we sent them two email communications detailing precautions to take, and instructions in case of sickness. Unfortunately, we lost 20 guests in the two weeks before our wedding who decided not to join us and risk it. Now, two weeks after our wedding, I'm happy to report that we had a healthy wedding. Only two guests got sick, and we aren't convinced it was norovirus (dehydration, heat stroke, hangovers...). It was a four-day extravaganza with multiple wedding events in the center of town, including at Don Pedro's and Palmar Trapiche. We, all of our guests, and all of our vendors, took every precaution - obsessive hand washing, strict "quarantine" for anyone who felt any nausea, an on-call doctor to evaluate anyone who was feeling ill, no swimming anywhere along the main beach, and more. I can not recommend my wedding planner, Lauren from Nicoella Event Design, HIGHLY enough. She was absolutely incredible, honest, supportive, and action-oriented every step of the way. The weekend was magical."
Readers, don't forget to post your positive experiences on TripAdvisor's Sayulita Forum.

April 24, 2019 - Sayulita Beach SAFE for Swimming- A Busy Semana Santa Holiday is Under Way
As many have seen, numerous articles and internet "trolls" with inaccurate information have been making their way around social media and various travel forums declaring that Sayulita beach is not safe for swimming. This has caused the rumor mill to spin, and some to worry about how this would affect tourism over the Semana Santa holiday. However, the correct information is that Sayulita beach has been tested, and the water is safe! Even with some false reports about our beach and water safety, we have still seen a fairly busy Semana Santa Holiday here in Sayulita. According to Mexico's secretary of health, in an article published on Tuesday, April 16th, 2019, it states, "according to the most recent analysis carried out on the marine water of Sayulita beach, municipality of Bahia de Banderas, its waters are suitable for the recreational use of all tourism and residents of this tourist destination." Read full article here

April 17, 2019 Sayulita beach declared for safe swimming and recreational use - Sayulita is now the only beach town in the area that does not dump wastewater directly onto the beach. Many people turned out today to tour the plant and grounds, and it was great to see everyone involved in the process. There was also a noticeable lack of odor at the plant, which was a pleasant experience. The government of Nayarit also tested the Sayulita water quality and the latest test results showed between 10 and 20 NMP / 100 ml enterococci, which is well below the 200 NMP / 100 ml limit set by the government for safe swimming.

With Sayulita Life information: http://www.sayulitalife.com/sayulero/index.php/2019/04/17/completion-of-sayulitas-wastewater-treatment-plant-upgrade-emissor-pipe-project/

April 17, 2019 Sayulita Sickness and water quality update - The State Commission for Sanitary Risks of Nayarit (COESPRISNAY), under the Ministry of Health of the State, informed that according to the most recent result of the analysis carried out on the marine water of the Sayulita beach, municipality of Bahía de Banderas, its waters are found suitable for recreational use of all tourism and residents of this destination.The Ministry of Health of Nayarit, together with the COESPRISNAY, will maintain the sampling permanently to ensure that the Sayulita water quality continues to comply with the parameters requested by COFEPRIS.

By NTV News: https://www.ntv.com.mx/2019/04/16/secretaria-de-salud-todas-las-playas-de-nayarit-aptas-para-uso-recreativo-estas-vacaciones/

Sayulita Wastewater Treatment Plant and Sickness Update, April 16, 2019 Today the Governor of Nayarit and the Municipal President, came to Inaugurate the new Underwater emissor and the extension of the existing Sayulita Waste Water Treatment Plant. Lots of locals were present. As of today, there is no sewage water being dumped in Sayulita Beach, the sewage smell is gone, and the water feels way cleaner! No test has been performed yet, however, we assume that without the sewage running into the ocean, water quality should greatly improve, and infectious sicknesses in Sayulita should drop.

As of today, Wildmex will start providing the Service of Surf Lessons in Sayulita again.

April 15, 2019 - Sayulita Water Quality Update. It is a great relief to know that today, Sayulita sewage is no longer dumped into the beach and contractors of the treatment plant confirm that at this moment the pipe is already submerged and connected. The water quality in Sayulita is still monitored due to the waste accumulated over time, however, after starting up the wastewater treatment plant can be considered an important advance for the water revitalization of Sayulita.

April 13, 2019. The works continue. Apparently, the submarine emitter is already connected and properly submerged, although the authorities still do not confirm this fact, the residual water no longer has bad smells and it looks apparently clean, we hope that our beautiful beach can be restored very soon. Meanwhile we continue to invite all guests to perform their recreational activities on beaches such as La Lancha in Punta de Mita

With Alerta Bahía information - April 11, 2019, Wastewater treatment plant is in operation! State and Federal authorities announced the start-up of the wastewater treatment plant in Sayulita, this means contamination of the area is finished. Read More on "In operation plant to treat wastewater and stop spills to Sayulita beach"

April 10, 2019, Sayulita Waste Water and Sickness Update. The works to submerged the wastewater disposal pipe are still on their ways, it seems like they're doing progress but it's kind of slow. As of today, they're still semi-treated waste water running into the surf break and beach and we still recommend no surfing in Sayulita beach.

We also have a 25 people yoga retreat group that arrived this Saturday and so far nobody has gotten sick so that is one good sign. However, they have not got it in the water and they have been really careful.

Sayulita Sickness update April 8, 2019 at 10:30 am, there is not much movement going on at the beach, pipe or water treatment plant to keep away Sayulita sickness and reduce the probability of catching norovirus. The pipe is still out, but still floating and no one seems to be working on anchoring it to the ocean floor.Some people came in this morning and put up signs about Sayulita sewage improvement work being done.

Still, semi-treated water is running into the Sayulita river, beach and ocean. Fortunately, the bio-disc plant was turned on a few days ago (after 3 months off!!!) and water seems to be exiting cleaner and with less smell.

April 7th 2019 update on Sayulita wastewater treatment plant and sickness - As of this morning, all 11 sections of pipe have been set out at sea and connected in order to form a 2.2 km stretch of pipe into the ocean, however, the project to keep Sayulita beach and Surfbreak free from Sewage water, and with this, hopefully reduce the infection vectors that could be one of the main reasons for the sicknesses Sayulita's visitors and locals have been suffering from for years and have become more recurring this 2018-2019 winter season.

The pipe being all set out in the ocean is a great step towards fixing this issue, however, there are still steps needed to get the whole plan going, and even though we would love to know, we have no certainty on when will they be finished. Here are the steps still needed to get the sewage water away from Sayulita beach and surf break.

1- Submerge the 2.2 km of pipe and anchor it to the ocean floor.
2- Connect the pipe to the water treatment plant exhaust, calibrate pumps
3- Get the whole thing working, and hope for no details to come up, that could delay the operation of the new system.

From our perspective, this could take anywhere from 1 week to 3 weeks, and if something unexpected does not happen, we should be good to go.

Please keep in mind that the water discharged into the ocean floor will be treated, but not at its full. It probably will not affect any of the swimmers, surfers or habitants of Sayulita, however, modifications and amplifications to the current water treatment plant will be made through the following months in order to discharge full treated water out into the ocean.

Sadly, as of this morning, semi-treated sewage is still flowing right into Sayulita River, Beach and Surf Break.

Sayulita sewage treatment plant update - April 5, 2019. Today the last pipe of the wastewater emissor was connected, in the next days, the emissor will be submerged to the deep ocean to get finish the installation.

Sayulita Sickness and sewage treatment plant update - April 2, 2019. This morning government officials from Bahia de Banderas health sector visited Sayulita wastewater treatment plant to verify the correct functionality of its process.

sadly, it was noted that the wastewater situation is far from ideal. A deadline to fix the issue was given to the contractor for next April 6th.
Let's see what happen in the next days.

[APRIL 1, 2019] The works to improve the water issues in Sayulita continue to progress. There are still some pipes to be connected, however, at April 1 2019, the underwater wastewater emissor was 75% complete. However, we still recommend that all visitors avoid swimming or surfing in the sea in Sayulita until the emissor is complete.

Once the coupling of the remaining pipes is complete, the entire emissor will be submerged and installed.

We hope that the company in charge of installing the underwater emissor is efficient and can complete the work in the coming weeks, however, according to the current progress, it could take up to a month longer to complete the work.

We recommend that all our guests surf at La Lancha beach rather than Sayulita, and find lodging in nearby towns such as San Pancho, Punta Mita, La Cruz or Bucerias until the work has been completed and the water in Sayulita is in the best conditions.

If you are currently staying in Sayulita, take advantage of our Surf Shuttle to our headquarters in La Lancha, either to take your surf lessons, rent surf boards to surf at La Lancha or just spend the afternoon at the beach.

[MARCH 2019] The issues with the water treatment plant and water quality in Sayulita is something that worries all of us in town. On March 6 we were informed that for the last six weeks, all the towns raw sewage had been being dumped into the ocean, right next to Sayulita's main beach and the surf break. No wonder people have been getting sick! We recommend that all visitors avoid swimming or surfing in these waters until this issue is fixed.

The engineers installing the underwater emissor, which will pump the treated watewater further out into the ocean, tell us that they are working on the issue and installing the pipes out into the ocean.

The engineers assure us that the emissor should be finished and ready for connection on April 1, 2019. Until then, we do not recommend going in the water in Sayulita.