Let us remember that the term rímac comes from Quechua, and means to speak, express, say, which implies ringing, bellowing, “phenomena” that occur in times of rain with the increase in its flow, also dragging many stones that are They become the famous “boulders”.
The Rímac River rises in the Andes mountain range, more than 5 thousand meters above sea level, at the height of Ticlio (Paca snow), as well as from the seepage of numerous natural Morococha lagoons, formed in the heights of San Mateo and Casapalca. In its upper course it forms the Infiernillo canyon, upstream from San Mateo. It travels 130 kilometers until it meets the Santa Eulalia River. Already on the coast, it forms a large valley in the shape of a fan or delta, where the city of Lima rises, which is crossed by its waters until the mouth of the Pacific Ocean, in the Province of Callao. On its way, it has some tributaries, such as the Santa Eulalia River, which receives water from the Marcapomacocha lagoon, which serves to power several power plants and feed Lima, after treatment at the Atarjea purification plant. In the central part of the Rímac valley are various towns such as Matucana, Ricardo Palma, Chosica, Chaclacayo and Vitarte, small cities that function as strategic points between the coast and central mountains of Peru.
At the height of Surco, the Rímac valley opens up and, at the height of Vitarte, the great plain that reaches the Ocean begins. The valley has an area of approximately 3,700 square kilometers. As we know, this basin has great economic and industrial importance for the central coast of the country, due to the installed hydroelectric energy generation power. Currently, an arduous battle is being fought for the ecological conservation of the river which, unfortunately, has become a depository for garbage and waste of all kinds.
Rímac River: Symbol of the capital city
The history of Lima has always been linked to that intermittent river that has washed the valley since time immemorial. Archaeological evidence affirms that 4,600 years ago the inhabitants of the central coast already used its waters to trace rustic canals, which over the centuries transformed the desert into fertile and arable land. In the upper parts of the channel, intakes were built that made the water flow due to the effects of gravity.
There were four important canals: Ate, Surco, Guatica and Magdalena or Mateo Salado. They were the heart of more than 35 pre-Hispanic settlements and the embryo on which Hispanic Lima was founded by Francisco Pizarro, who chose to reside in the same place occupied by the local curaca Taulichusco. Precisely, this was a strategic site because the flow of water was controlled from there.
Between the Colony and the Republic, this entire network of canals, irrigation ditches and roads was used for the operation of farms and estates, and the metropolis of the 20th century was built on it. That is why Raúl Porras Barrenechea wrote—in 1959—that Lima beyond spatial coordinates was identified by two geographical features: the river and the hill. He was referring to the Rímac and the San Cristóbal, which marked—in his opinion—not only the physiognomy of the Peruvian capital, but also its spirit: “The hill stands to the north of the city, vigilant and haughty like a Castilian nobleman, displaying the catholic cross on the top. The river, on the other hand, humble and sinuous like the soul of the Indian, is a plunder that crawls along repeating a complaint that will turn into a roar in one of the periodic overflows of its channel.
As a coastal river, the Rímac is seasonal. 90% of its water depends on Andean rains, and 10% on glaciers. That's why it remains almost dry most of the year and only becomes stormy between December and March. It is, in short, a river that is always at risk of losing its flow. And worse still, it is one that in recent decades has been forgotten, mistreated and contaminated to the extreme. Unlike those who inhabited these lands in ancient times, it seems that we—inhabitants of the 21st century—live with our backs to the only source of water we have.
What future awaits the ancient speaking river—that's what its name means in Quechua—and the water supply in our capital?
Perhaps the most idyllic image of what Rímac means to Lima is owed to the artists. Juan Mauricio Rugendas portrayed the avenue that overlooked the Rímac in 1843, a traditional oil painting with graceful tapadas and horses that have as a background the majestic stone bridge and the contours of the church of Santo Domingo and the cathedral. The same scenario, but with much more solemn overtones, was executed by the Italian Fernando Brambila in a beautiful fresco from the late 18th century. An image that seems completely surreal if we look at the city today from the so-called Trujillo bridge.
Fernando Flores-Zúñiga, in his book Haciendas y pueblos de Lima. History of the Rímac Valley, mentions that by the 16th century the river had made possible the creation of a network of agro-urban centers throughout the valley. Four centuries later that valley does not exist. We have replaced it with a disorderly city, and the mythical river no longer brings fish or shrimp, as in a legendary past, but waste that pollutes its flow.
Along its route, the Rímac encounters 17 mining tailings that dump tons of chemical waste (arsenic, lead, cadmium, aluminum) and darken its waters. In this transit any trace of life disappears. It is estimated that 85% of its biodiversity has been lost, and if you want to see fish, you must go up to the San Mateo mountain range. The banks of the Rímac have also been used as an informal dumping ground, which has caused the reduction of its channel from Casapalca to Lima, something that worsens during times of landslides.
At the end of March 2017, Lima woke up to apocalyptic news. There was not any water. The more than 20 huaicos that the capital had endured filled the flow of the Rímac with mud, and the Atarjea was forced to close its intake. In a few hours, 27 districts did not have the service. More than 100 distribution points were installed, but many Lima residents, desperate, exhausted the stocks of bottled water in supermarkets.
In the midst of the shock, we had realized our total dependence on the river. The drinking water we consume basically comes from the Rímac (80%) and the rest from the Chillón (the waters of the Lurín are used for cultivation). All three are rainfall rivers, a pattern that is increasingly disrupted by climate change. Although the Rímac basin is relatively small, with a historical flow of 26.6 m3/s, it must supply a population of nine million inhabitants.
Will Lima be left without water? We asked agricultural engineer Sebastián Santayana, senior professor at the National Agrarian University. “We cannot predict what will happen to the Rímac River,” he answers, “what is up to us is to analyze its behavior based on the data we obtain. If the disappearance of the snow-capped mountains that feed it continues and if rainfall continues to vary each year, the river will be affected. Even more so if the demand for water will be greater than the supply in the near future.”
Despite this gloomy outlook, Santayana does not believe that the city will be left without supplies. “As time goes by, new sources, new resources will be accessed,” he says with some hope.
One of the biggest problems today is the pollution of the Rímac River. The National Water Authority (ANA), a state agency created in 2008 to conserve, protect and take advantage of the country's water resources, in its most recent study, has detected 1,185 sources of pollution, of which 60 are the product of mining activity.
According to the official, they have set themselves the challenge of formulating plans to save the river in ten years. Will they achieve it? Valer assures that this depends on the political will of the authorities in power, but the most important thing, he says, is the change in attitude regarding the use of water. “This task is not only the responsibility of the State, but also of all of us who use it irresponsibly,” he warns.
The World Health Organization recommends that a person should use 100 liters of water daily. In Peru, average consumption is 163 liters, an excess that is paradoxical if we see that in districts like San Isidro it can reach 436 liters, while in some areas of San Juan de Lurigancho it is barely 26. Another comparison: In Cape Town, South Africa, water has been rationed to 25 liters per person due to drought and poor management of the resource.
In the middle of Lima's summer, it seems that the Rímac, with its stormy, brown waters, will never dry out. However, the reality is that this old symbol and source of life of the capital is not eternal. Thinking about it again and recovering its ecosystem, as in the past, could be the beginning of a different future.
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