tourism

You are absolutely correct Sir, in your appraisal of the bay water situation. The bay is LESS polluted right now because it is the dry season. During the rainy season the canal and all effluent from the mountain, the streets and the overflowing sewer lines? or the storm drains(these drain line covers in the streets pop-up) and the water flows from these directly down the street and into town, the canal and out into the bay. If it is not sewer, it still stinks and it is from the untreated mountain effluent.

Similar to Puerto Vallarta 40 years ago where the sewer flooding into streets made a smell so bad it was impossible not to gag. They have corrected that problem for the most part and Zhia needs to do the same. It is not rocket science that the bay is polluted and the e. coli burden and possibly hepatitis contamination is HIGH and I for one one do NOT need an analysis to determine degree of the burden. IT IS TOO MUCH whatever the burden level is! Especially in the wet season!

Discussions about what that burden is, is academic to me and I have NEVER gone in the surf in Principal, Madera or La Ropa for over the 8 yeas of my visiting Zhia. Los Gatos is cleaner, but the whole bay is polluted to some degree. No shellfish should be gathered in the bay, and I believe oysters are harvested from the sea- not the bay. Or at least they should NOT be harvested from the bay. If you like hepatitis, then eat oysters from the bay as there is a potential for contracting that specific disease by eating shellfish from contaminated waters.

Now all the nay sayers jump in and dispute me. The facts are the facts and you can argue about the percentage of contamination, whether it is advisable to swim in these areas or not. It is irrelevant to me- I do NOT swim where I know the pollution is concentrated.

Make your decision where you will swim and I will do likewise. To each their own and more power to ya. Swim where you like. Go to La Ropa and look around. Perhaps you will observe what I have seen and be better able to make a value judgement based on your observations there and elsewhere.