Sayulita Scenes - Semana Santa 2019

Photo by Dorsett Photography

Photo of Playa Los Muertos by Curt Barter

Completion of Sayulita’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade & Emissor Pipe Project

Text from Sayulita Life's El Sayulero.  Photos, video by others.

On Thursday, April 11th, 2019, the emissor pipe was successfully installed to the newly upgraded wastewater treatment plant in Sayulita. The Gobernador Antonio Echevarria Garcia,the Presidente Municipal de Bahia de Banderas, Jaime Cuevas, and the director of the CEA (Nayarit’s potable water authority), Martha Patricia Urenda Delgado were at the treatment plant yesterday, on April 16th, to tour and inaugurate the newly upgraded and fully functioning plant and emissor. Sayulita is now the only beach town in the area that does not dump grey water directly onto the beach. Many people turned out today to tour the plant and grounds, and it was great to see everyone involved in the process. There was also a noticeable lack of odor at the plant, which was a pleasant experience. The government of Nayarit also tested the water quality and the latest test results showed between 10 and 20 NMP / 100 ml enterococci, which is well below the 200 NMP / 100 ml limit set by the government for safe swimming.

 The treatment plant was previously only able to process 20-30 liters per second when both sides of the plant were in optimum running condition, which could not always keep up with the demand due to tourism growth, but it now has now been upgraded to process up to 80 liters per second, which is a huge improvement, and can handle the busiest tourist times, such as Semana Santa and Christmas / New Year’s Eve holidays. With the emissor pipe in place and functioning, there is no treated water entering the river or emptying onto the beach. The fully treated water is instead emitted through a pipe that is anchored to the sea bed and emits the treated water 2.3 km into the deep ocean. With good maintenance, this newly upgraded plant will serve Sayulita for the next 25 years as the population continues to grow. The government is now overseeing the management of the plant, so there will be regular inspections and upkeep.

This massive infrastructure upgrade could not have happened without the actions of Grupo Pro Sayulita, who took the initiative to get studies in place, engineering plans, apply for permits, and also the many donors who helped the project get underway. The new sewer line beneath Manuel Navarette, beneath the river bed,  and the new storage tank at the plant were all funded by Grupo Pro Sayulita as well as private donations. The newly elected Mexican State and Federal government then took over the project and have been working diligently for months to bring about the completion of the project, which they funded in excess of 41 million pesos.

This is the best news Sayulita has received in a very long time; thanks to everyone who stood by this necessary project and donated their time and money to bring about positive change for the health of everyone in Sayulita. There is still more to do, so please consider becoming a member of Grupo Pro Sayulita, or you can always pick a cause and donate directly to that fund. You can donate to Grupo Pro Sayulita here.

More Tear Downs - Sayulita Centro Will Never Look The Same

Virtually overnight a large part of Centro has vanished!   This week demolition crews took down two what many consider historical buildings in the heart of town.  The Casa de Cultura and the Sayulita Ejido Building are no more.  The demolition size is enormous considering the small size of downtown stretching from Calle Revolucion all the way back to Manuel Navarrete.  If you are not familiar with street names then picture the buildings across from the Sayulita Cafe totally gone all the way back to the Kiosko.

Standing in front of Mary's looking toward ocean.  This was the Ejido building.

Standing in front of la Morada

Of course the speculations are already flying about what is going to be built in this prime location, how big will it be, it's effects on downtown, the overall design, who the money is behind such a project and who is benefiting behind the scenes. The latest rumors are that the ejido was looking for a new source of income for it's members and sold off some of it's most valued land holdings.  Talks are that a large "boutique" type hotel with parking and commercial will occupy the space..

Standing in from of Hotel Kapuri.  Looking at former Casa de Cultura location

Standing in front of Hotel Kapuri looking back at the remnants of the Ejido Building.

Former location of the Casa de Cultura

There is no doubt that the face of Sayulita is changing at lightning speed but this hit the heart of many of the residents who had memories made here.  Even our kids had a presentation at the Casa de Cultura when they were in Kindergarten our first year here and now it is a pile of rubble.  It is sad to see and many locals have voiced their disappointment in the ejido's decision to make a drastic change to the heart of Sayulita. 

Standing on the corner by Su Casa Restaurant

The debate is already heating up about employment opportunities that may be available to the local population vs the destruction of part of the history of Sayulita and it's effect on infrastructure. Things like this happen overnight and rarely does the general public know about it before the heavy equipment shows up. I had not even been downtown in a week and actually had to go look for myself this morning to believe what the town Facebook page was saying. Don't blink. You may miss something in this town the way things happen these days.