Article: Not a drop to drink: the Lerma Santiago River is one of the most contaminated waterways in Mexico. So why do government officials want people to drink it?

The Rio Lerma Santiago, Mexico's second longest river, begins at 10,000 feet above sea level in Mexico's central plateau, and is known as the Rio Lerma until it empties into Lake Chapala, near Guadalajara. From there, it resumes its course as the Rio Santiago, to run into the sea near San Blas, Nayarit. Considered Mexico's most important watershed in terms of agricultural and industrial production, the Lerma Santiago is notorious for its pollution. At its source, silt from deforestation has narrowed the river and slowed its course; downriver at Salamanca, pollution from a PEMEX plant has killed everything along the banks. There is a story of a boy dropping a match at the ...

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