Nasty Oil Spill in Chaco

Last Tuesday, another major oil spill filled El Chaco County’s streams and rivers with crude oil. Last year a landslide caused a big oil spill about an hour from us. The cause of this one is not yet known.

This oil spill is about 10-minutes from us in the town of Santa Rosa. Unfortunately, the main leak was right next to a stream that flows into the Quijos River, where rafting and kayak are practiced. Since this spill happened below us, our water is not affected, but others down river now have their water completely contaminated.

The most frustrating part of all this is that the oil companies always try to cover up that damage that these spills cause. After “extensive studies” were completed after the last spill, the oil company announced that there was no environmental impact. I guess they were blind to the dead fish, ducks and other wildlife in the river and along the shores.

One of our friends decided to kayak down the river to take pictures of the damage done. When he got out of the river, he ran into some of the cleanup workers. As he was collecting his gear to leave, they managed to rob his camera. So much for collecting incriminating evidence!

Although the river above the oil spill is safe for rafting, the rest of the river will take 6 months to a year to clean up.