May 12, 2008
By Matt Malinowski
Patagonia Times
Frustrated residents of Region X’s Futaleufú took to the streets on Monday, demanding that local officials restore water service interrupted by the eruption of the nearby Chaitén Volcano. The demonstrations come amid increased criticism of the government’s response to the volcanic activity, which has continued unabated since May 2.
Photo: Chaiten (above) and other area towns still covered in ash/ (Victor González, Partido Humanista)
“The town of Futaleufú has been without drinking water for eight days now,” municipal government spokesperson Geraldo Repamal told the Santiago Times. “A water purification system was brought in from Argentina, but the company is still carrying out tests to make sure that it works.”
The eruption, Chaitén’s first in recorded history, released a massive billow of ash that was visible as far away as Puerto Montt, some 200 kilometers to the north. Volcanic soot began to rain down, blanketing Chaitén, Futaleufú and other area towns and contaminating local water supplies (ST, May 2). Within days, a tower of ash had spread more than 500 miles to Argentina's Atlantic Coast, affecting air traffic and causing respiratory problems there.
Repamal said local government officials have been distributing emergency supplies, including oil, gas and drinking water, imported from neighboring Argentina. He said the town hired the water company Essal to install a water purification system, but that company officials wanted to take samples of the purified water itself to insure the system's proper functioning.
“They want to be sure that the purified water does not contain any contaminants. The company does not want residents drinking the water and then, for example, coming down with stomach aches,” he said.
Repamal said the company will know by midweek whether or not the system works. For many of the town's remaining 350 residents, the wait will be too long.
“There are still problems with the town's drinking water, and the town's residents are demanding that the water system be restored,” the Futaleufú official said.
The protests come as members of the opposition Independent Democratic Union (UDI) described the government's response to the tragedy as “insufficient.” They also criticized what they perceive as the lack of government effort to finish the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway), a rural roadway that, if constructed, would connect the towns near the eruption with the Region X city of Puerto Montt.
“All we hear about today is the ecological and environmental disaster and how the people and the animals are suffering,” said UDI Sen. Jaime Orpis. “Chile has not showed the political will power to address this issue.”
“According to Public Works Ministry data, the government plans to construct only 5 kilometers of this road, leaving 60 kilometers left to build,” said Orpis. “Given the tragedy that the people of Chaitén are facing, we need to prioritize infrastructure, but not just 5 kilometers of it. I think the Public Works Ministry's response has been insufficient.”
Former Public Works (MOP) Minister Eduardo Bitrán proposed that the Carretera Austral be built through the middle of Pumalín Park, the nature reserve created by U.S. philanthropist Douglas Tompkins. The Chaitén Volcano happens to lie within the park’s boundaries. Tompkins, who proposed an alternative coastal route for the road, has been fighting the proposal ever since (ST, April 28).
According to Sen. Orpis, Tompkins has “superimposed the interests of the environment over the interests of the people.”
More than 12,000 civilians, including a few dozen residents holed up in Chaitén and Santa Barbara, have been evacuated since the volcano eruption began. The Agriculture Ministry had also initiated plans to rescue most of the 40,000 cows, sheep, and other livestock in nearby towns.
The Region X Governor's Office, however, issued a decree preventing animal rights organizations from traveling to Chaitén to rescue the estimated 600 pets – mostly horses, dogs and cats – abandoned there. As of Sunday, local animal activists said they were preparing legal arguments to have the decision overturned (ST, May 12).
http://www.patagoniatimes.cl/content/view/503/1/