Las Glorias sewage water disrupts hotel access

Persistent sewage water and standing water in Las Glorias, Puerto Vallarta, continue to complicate access to hotels and workplaces. The access problem has continued for several days.

A video recorded on Sunday, October 4, shows the conditions faced by tourists, transport workers, and employees entering the hotel zone. Vehicles and employees were attempting to travel through the affected area, while workers from one of the hotels were observed walking through accumulated water to get to their workplace.

A tourist bus operated by Gujar, coming from Torreón, Coahuila, crossed water covering the road to continue toward the Secrets hotel. The recording refers to conditions around Harbor, and the person who recorded the situation said, “Good morning, we’re still the same.”

The affected streets documented include Niza, Havre, Hamburgo, Liverpool, Palm Spring, Viena, Milán, Francia, and Yugoslavia. Since late September, sewage discharges, foul odors, and street flooding have been documented in Las Glorias, Versalles, and Díaz Ordaz. Discharges from the sanitary sewer system began to be recorded on roads in Versalles, Díaz Ordaz, and Las Glorias, while runoff from those streets reaches the Las Glorias sector.

Carlos Alberto Ruiz Hernández, SEAPAL Vallarta’s general director, previously acknowledged the sanitation-system problem. He identified stormwater discharges into the sanitary sewer system, blockages caused by grease and other waste, and sediment buildup in the collector as factors in the problem.

SEAPAL Vallarta reported on October 3 that its Operations personnel continued working with Public Works and Civil Protection to mitigate water stagnation generated by high tide associated with the passage of hurricanes. SEAPAL Vallarta said its teams remained in the field attending to areas that required assistance and carrying out coordinated actions to reduce the impacts. The water-stagnation work is taking place while the previously documented sanitation problem continues in Las Glorias and Versalles.

Despite the work carried out, the video recorded on Sunday shows that tourists, workers, and vehicles continue to face difficulties traveling through and accessing hotels in Las Glorias. The access problem has generated warnings about possible health risks. Jaime Álvarez Zayas, the director of the Eighth Health Region of the Jalisco Health Secretariat, said that untreated sewage in contact with people and homes poses a risk to public health, recommended avoiding direct contact with this type of water as much as possible, and reported that the problem had been referred to the relevant area of the Jalisco Health Secretariat for intervention by Coprisjal. He also said that exposure to this type of water can cause conjunctivitis, dermatitis, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal illnesses.

For visitors heading into Las Glorias, the documented conditions affect the approach to hotels and workplaces; check the access route before traveling through the affected streets and avoid direct contact with the water.