Water lilies continue to invade the Allende Dam, authorities remain silent on the problem

Published November 27th, 2021

The Allende Dam has been flooded with water lily, after several months with low levels due to the drought, the rains washed lily from the Laja River, the contamination has favored its growth.

The water lily, also known as water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant of the Pontaderiaceae family. It has bulbs with air that allow it to float and gives purple flowers.

It is a plant native to the fresh waters of the warm regions of South America. Its abundance drastically changes the conditions of wetlands. It is used as a medicinal, soil fertilizer, and decorative plant. It has now colonized almost every continent where it has become an invasive species. It is included in the list of the 100 most harmful invasive alien species in the world.

In some countries it is considered an invasive plant; however, in others, it has been used as a phytoremediator due to its capacity to retain in its tissues a great variety of heavy metals present in contaminated bodies of water.

In the specific case of San Miguel de Allende, fishermen are concerned because since the arrival of the water lily they have not been able to work and tourism has decreased significantly.

The neighbors of the Presa Allende Community have organized to manually remove the largest aquatic lily, to prevent it from “drying up” the Begoña Dam (also known as Presa Allende).

Both the previous and current municipal governments have indicated that this is the responsibility of CONAGUA, however, the contamination of the body of water due to discharges of polluted water is an issue that is the responsibility of the water agency.

Citizens urge attention from all levels of government to solve the problem of the uncontrolled growth of water lilies.