Playa del Carmen’s Water Pollution Rules Exist but Go Unenforced, Activist Says

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Nearly three years after Playa del Carmen adopted municipal rules to prevent and control water pollution, the regulation remains largely unenforced and agencies are still failing to coordinate their response to contamination reports, the head of a local environmental foundation said.

Alejandro López Tamayo, director general of Centinelas del Agua, said complaints about suspected illegal discharges — including a recent case in Puerto Aventuras — have not produced joint action from the municipal government, the state government, the National Water Commission (Conagua) and the Federal Attorney’s Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa).

Rules on the books since 2023

The regulation was published on Nov. 15, 2023, and remains in force. It is aimed at preventing and controlling water pollution and provides for fines against those who contaminate cenotes or make irregular discharges, along with water-quality assessments and environmental certification processes carried out with civil organizations.

The region’s karst subsoil makes the water table especially vulnerable to wastewater, waste and urban growth. According to López Tamayo, it is the only regulation of its kind among Quintana Roo’s 11 municipalities.

Why the activist says the rules are not applied

López Tamayo argued that the lack of inspection, follow-up and administrative consequences leaves the regulation as a tool with no visible results. He said there is no coordination among the municipal government, the state, Conagua and Profepa to handle the complaints, including the recent Puerto Aventuras case.

A commission has already been set up to monitor the regulation, he said, but his organization has proposed giving it greater legal weight and creating rapid-response mechanisms for pollution reports.

“If it stays on paper and doesn’t move into action, the problem is going to continue,” he said.

Discharges and seaweed blooms

López Tamayo linked nutrient discharges into the sea to the proliferation of macroalgae, a phenomenon that affects beaches, ecosystems and tourism. He recalled that environmental organizations have been warning for at least 15 years about contamination of the aquifer and its possible effects on the coast.

What the group is asking for

The director of Centinelas del Agua called for monitoring to be paired with investment in modernizing wastewater treatment plants so they meet treatment requirements. He stressed that on the Yucatan Peninsula, the porous soil and underground connections make it essential to keep discharges from reaching the aquifer.

He noted that Mexican official standard NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021 sets permissible limits for discharges into water bodies owned by the nation.