Puerto Vallarta Is Ready For The Rains.

Puerto Vallarta is a municipality experiencing rapid growth, which due to the fast pace of demographic increase or the acceleration of the arrival of more inhabitants, has found the need to also accelerate the provision of services, housing, and of course, a good rain control project to prevent the catastrophes caused by heavy rains.

Just last year, Puerto Vallarta experienced one of its largest floods that devastated streets and avenues, causing more damage than the arrival of the hurricane. But all of this could be avoided if cooperation is achieved to make the strategies to face the contingency work. On one hand, there is SEAPAL, which is the government institution responsible for addressing these issues; and on the other hand, there are the citizens who must commit to not littering the streets, as this clogs the drains and prevents rainwater from flowing correctly through the stormwater management system.

Previously, these rainwater diversion systems did not exist, but since 2022, various pipes have been constructed to divert water from the street drains to the nearest rivers. Alternatively, for rainwater collection, storm drains were built, which are the grates and drains on the streets and avenues of our municipality, which, through pipes, direct the water to the stormwater collection system and then directly to a body of water like rivers. This is why it is important not to throw objects or trash on the streets because they clog the drains and grates, or worse, all that garbage ends up in our seas, killing hundreds of animals.

SEAPAL, for its part, urges the population to have their internal installations in order, to prevent rainwater from patios and rooftops from being channeled to the street and not to the sanitary sewer. Rainwater and wastewater are collected in separate systems, which means that the combination of both flows in the sanitary lines causes the pipes to work at higher pressure and collapse, especially in neighborhoods with old asbestos or cement infrastructure. This can also lead to sewage spills in public areas, or even sinkholes because, after a collapse, pieces of pipe fall into the line, as well as the soil filling surrounding the pipe.

Let's trust that the municipality's services will operate more efficiently to face possible natural eventualities, and let's cooperate by disposing of garbage in its proper place so that the pipes are clean and ready for better water management that will end up in the sea.