Laguna Yalahau’s Pollution Crisis Revealed

Holbox, Quintana Roo — The Laguna Yalahau, a natural paradise within the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area, is facing a serious contamination problem due to the rapid and uncontrolled growth of tourism on Holbox Island. This boom has exceeded the capacity of local infrastructure, particularly concerning the management of solid waste and wastewater.

Specific studies by the organization Centinelas del Agua A.C. highlight the need to address this issue by working on projects that involve the community, as well as the necessity for sanitation systems, according to Alejandro López Tamayo, the director of the organization.

The primary threat comes from sewage. The lack of a sewer system and efficient treatment plants causes wastewater to contaminate the lagoon directly. This is compounded by the problem of trash: the accumulation of waste on the island, often managed in open-air dumps, represents a direct risk to the ecosystem.

Tourist activities also contribute to the deterioration of this body of water. For instance, the impact on piers and resource extraction zones has increased the presence of nutrients that unbalance the fragile natural environment of the ecosystem.

Analysis of water quality has documented the severity of the problem, having found that concentrations of phosphates in Laguna Yalahau are much higher than in other bodies of water on the Yucatan Peninsula, indicating significant deterioration.

Faced with this situation, the organization Centinelas del Agua A.C. has implemented programs focused on conservation and protection to counteract the effects of contamination and promote more sustainable practices that ensure the long-term environmental health of the lagoon.

Studies Reveal Specific Contamination Sources

Alejandro López Tamayo stated, "We found that mainly the freshwater springs, or 'ojos de agua,' that are in the Yalahau lagoon are the ones with a high concentration of nutrients or contamination, derived from the groundwater that travels from the watershed. If there are communities upstream that lack sanitation, without biodigesters, discharging their wastewater into the aquifer, it discharges at these points."

He added that high concentrations of pollutants have been found in the freshwater springs, as well as in other areas of the lagoon, and issued a call for everyone to have sanitation systems. "Let's remember that everything is connected from the watershed to the reef."

According to López Tamayo, the Mesoamerican Reef Fund, or Mar Fund, has been supporting the execution of studies in the lagoon located between Chiquilá and Holbox, where water quality has been monitored from 2018 to 2025.

"This has allowed us to carry out pollution prevention actions, install two rainwater catchment systems for two fishing cooperatives and for the secondary school in Holbox, in addition to working on the separation of solid waste to prevent single-use plastics from ending up in the ecosystems," he indicated.