Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán

Facultad de Contaduría y Administración

Course:
Sustainability and good business practices

Teacher:
Amarella Eastmond Spencer

Group:
“F”

Water pollution in Yucatan

Final project

Elaborated by:

Ambrosio Pacheco, Henry Israel

Delivery date:
Wednesday November 20, 2019
Index

Introduction ............................................................................................................ 3

Current situation worldwide ................................................................................. 4

Current situation in México.................................................................................. 4

Current situation in Yucatán ................................................................................ 5

The organization .................................................................................................... 7

Methodology ........................................................................................................ 10

Sustainability analysis of the organization ......................................................... 10

Conclusions: ..................................................................................................... 11

Recommendations ............................................................................................ 12

References .......................................................................................................... 13

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 WATER

Introduction

Water. According to the Britannica encyclopedia, water is a substance

composed of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous,
liquid, and solid states. It is one of the most plentiful and essential of compounds.

The water on the surface of earth is found mainly on oceans and polar ice
caps and glaciers, being 97.25% and 2.05% of the total amount of water, with the
remaining being found in freshwater lakes, rivers and groundwater, which we’ll be
focusing on later on.

As we all are aware, water is a vital substance for every living organism, after
all, up to 60% of the human adult body is water (USGS,2019).

Many civilizations started and developed thanks to having a water source

nearby. The major civilizations developed along rivers, because it’s needed to drink,
navigate, fish, wash, cool down, cook, travel, plant, etc. One example of a major
civilization is the Egyptian, whom developed alongside the Nile, the Tigris and the
Euphrates rivers.

Now, after seeing how important the water was to ancient civilizations and
how important is to any form of life, we’ll see how we’re taking care of the water, and
how is its current situation.

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 Current situation worldwide

People are struggling to access the quantity and quality of water they need
for drinking, cooking, bathing, handwashing, and growing their food.

Amazing progress has been made in making clean drinking water accessible
to 2.6 billion people in developing countries from 1990 to 2015. Yet there are still
many opportunities to multiply the benefits of clean water through improved
sanitation and hygiene education.

Access to clean water changes everything; it’s a stepping-stone to

development. When people gain access to clean water, they are better able to
practice good hygiene and sanitation. Children enjoy good health and are more likely
to attend school. Parents put aside their worries about water-related diseases and
lack of access to clean water. Instead, they can water crops and livestock and
diversify their incomes.

Current situation in México

Big companies

Coca-Cola

It’s of course no secret that the bottling companies need water to make their
products. But the water they use isn’t the water we see in the bottle.

In many parts of México, there have been protests and demands that the
authorities urgently impose a cap on the extraction of water or the exit of the plant,
and that the state and federal government comply with its obligation to protect the
welfare of the population and the conservation of the environment and stop favoring
the transnational with preferential treatment.

The people are protesting to denounce that this company extracts more than
750 thousand liters of water every day in a city that faces a growing shortage of this
liquid.

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 The harvesting is not the only hazard this company puts on people. The
transnational is also accused of being responsible for the serious health
consequences of the high consumption of this soda and other sugary drinks, factors
that have caused a serious epidemic of overweight, diabetes and tooth decay.

So, as we can see, the harvesting that these big companies do end up hurting
a big part of the population, and that’s just in the water department, because, as we
know, their product also produces other serious illnesses.

Current situation in Yucatán

Water in Yucatán

In the state of Yucatán, there are many water bodies, including the Cenotes,
Rejolladas and Aguadas, esteros and lagunas.

Yucatán is located on average 30m above sea level, so the state has an easy
access to the water resources located underground. Centuries ago, the mayans had
no problems getting water, which was obtained by the rain and stored on the esteros.
And as them our parents and grandparents also had ease of getting watter, digging
wells and storing the water in buckets and in smaller esteros or “piletas”, where they
would get the water in an easier way, and they would use it for different activities in
their daily life, including drinking.

Today, well, it’s complicated. The habitants of Yucatán still dig and drill wells,
but to a lesser degree, and they cannot drink of them anymore. They are used mainly
for watering the plants, storing water for washing the clothes or for the use in the
bathroom. Also, there are no shallower wells. Years ago, when the water was less
contaminated, the people dug the wells, to a depth of around 10m-15m, but
nowadays they have to be drilled, to a depth of around 25m-35m to get freshwater,
but still, it’s not advised to drink it, even from that depth.

Many reports have been done about the pollution of the water in the state,
mainly because the soil here is really permeable, meaning that any contaminant, like
chemical products like shampoos, detergents, cooking oil, or any oil for that matter,
etc. Or lixiviates get filtered to the soul and the water that rest below. But the most
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important, is the contaminated wastewater that big companies pour in the soil,
without treating it first.

Companies harvesting freshwater

Modelo Group

Yucatan is a national reference because it is home to the third most important

water reserve in the country, but that is currently being damaged by the installation
of pig companies and an industry that is over-exploiting the aquifer (Yucatecan
brewery), damaging the heritage of the Yucatecan, fundamentally of the poorest.

Mérida is a city with serious pollution problems, due to the thousands of septic
tanks that work in homes. This is a very serious problem that is not resolved because
there is no political will.

It is in the public domain that the installation of several companies has caused
water scarcity or pollution.

In the midst of a global and local emergency due to a shortage of water, Grupo
Modelo is "drying" many entities in Mexico, by removing this liquid and using it to
make their beer.

According to the inhabitants of the region, to make a liter of beer the company
uses seven liters of water, from the Aguanaval River, which affects access to the
liquid; However, the company says it only uses 2.8 liters to make its drinks.

The risks involved in the ativity of Grupo Modelo were already indicated in the
Official Gazette of the Federation, since in August 2016 the results of technical
studies of national waters were published.

According to the newspaper, if an order is not established in the short term

that controls the extraction of groundwater in the entire surface of the aquifer, it could
be terminated without the natural renewal capacity.

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 The organization

The organization currently has no corporate

identity, and the following are proposals that my team
has done in another class, while working with the
company.

Name: water purification plant: Aqua-may

Location: 55th Street between 2 and 4. Francisco Villa Oriente. Mérida,

Yucatán.

Mission: We are a water purification plant seeking the benefit of the human
being, distributing water in the southwest of Mérida and the city of Kanasín, with the
highest quality standards in the market, satisfying the needs of the people at a
reasonable price.

Vision: Becoming the main water purification plan in the state of Yucatán,
counting on continuous innovation in our purifying processes, offering the greatest
quality and maintaining low prices.

Purpose: Supply purified water to the entire city of Kanasín and the
southwest part of the city of Mérida.

Philosophy: Using the advances in technology to offer a quality service to

the entire cities of Mérida and the different municipalities of the State of Yucatán.

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 How it works:

As the organization has two ways of servicing the water, both will be described
below.

1. The water plant has two ways

of servicing customers with the service,
one is directly done in the plant, were the
customer brings its empty water jug, the
employee receives it, removes any seals or
caps that it may have and proceeds to
clean the interior and exterior of the jug
with water soap, after that, the jug is
cleansed with clean water from the tap, and
proceed to the sanitation area, where it’s
put upside down and blasted with
disinfectant on the inside of the jug and
then is rinsed with purified water. After that, the jug goes to the filling area, where it’s
filled with purified water, the jug is capped and it’s later sealed for warranty. The jug
is wiped on the outside with a towel to remove any water in the exterior so it’s dry for
the customer, and after that, the jug is handed to the customer.

2. It the vending window, the process is

similar, the customer opens the door, places the
jug upside down, introduces the coins in the
machine and then presses the button so the jug
can be disinfected and then rinsed. After that, the
customer places the jug normally, with the
bottleneck facing upwards and presses the filling
button with the desired capacity. After the jug is
filled with the purified water, the customer puts the
cap on and can leave with a full jug.

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 How is the water obtained?

The water is obtained through the use of a deep well, the water is extracted
by a water pump and stored in a couple water tanks. After enough water is stored,
the process purification stars and is purified with the help of the different filters and
is then stored in a “purified water” tank, from which the serving tubes obtain the water
to rinse the disinfectant and to fill the water jugs to serve the customers.

Requirements for operation

 Register in the SHCP (Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público)

 Registration and inspection by the Health Department of Yucatán
 Land use payment
 Operating license

Quality of the water

 The water follows a purification process, which includes Chlorinated,

Carbon filter, softeners, reverse osmosis, polishing filters and UV light.
 To sanitize the water jugs, chlorine dioxide is used to wash the inside
and then is rinsed with water.
 The water is tested every day, to comply with the sanitary standards.
Also, the health department does a water analysis test monthly to
certify the quality of the water.

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 Methodology

To elaborate this sustainability study, I researched the information about

water on different websites, and a study was done in a local company. Through a
couple interviews, the owner gave me the necessary information about his company
and also let me get inside and see how the different processes work to purify the
water. He talked about the purification process, the conditions of the employees, the
requirements they need to meet to operate, its history and everything I needed to do
this project. After that, I made the analysis based on all the information provided by
the owner and by the information I acquired during the course and the information
that was provided by the teacher.

Sustainability analysis of the organization

 Social sustainability
In this aspect, the company helps with social sustainability by providing a low
cost option for purified water. In Yucatán, the water from the tap is not really safe to
drink, so the people have to rely con companies that purify water. The problem is
that some charge to around $30MXN for a jug of 20-liter jug. And with that price, it’s
difficult to some families to afford it. Aquamay gives the option to those families to
get cheap and safe water to drink and fulfill their hydration needs, helping them to
get a healthy life, and not get sick by contamination in water from the tap or by other
sources. Aquamay also provides employment for people living near the plant, mostly
teenagers, because of the minimum wage payment, but it provides them with
experience and a source of money which otherwise they wouldn’t get, either because
they don’t have the education for a decent job, or because they are studying and
can’t commit for a full time job. The company offers a half time job of 6 hours a day.

 Environmental sustainability

The company separates the lids with which the jugs come, they are stored in
the bucket and when it’s full, it’s put in a bag, and the owner then takes it to a
recycling plant, so that they don’t end in the landfill, and reducing the amount of
plastic that is circulating.

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  Economic sustainability
The company has economic sustainability because they get revenue, which
is used to pay to their employees, providing jobs and participating in the economy,
fulfilling its fiscal obligations and helping the state with the taxes they pay, and
activating the economy buying supplies and providing its customers with a service
that benefits them.

Conclusions:

How sustainable is the company?

Sustainability Staircase:

STEPS TO MEET THE GROWING EXPECTATIONS OF SOCIETY

Comply with
sustainability Earth boundaries
x Social responsibility Community’s needs.
x environmental Protection Environmental protection
x Quality Customer expectations
Health, security and life quality of Employee needs
life at work
x Good business practices and Compliance with the law,
compliance with laws regulations and standards

I marked with an X the concepts that the organization is meeting, based on

my analysis. Aqua may meets the necessary laws, regulations and meets the quality
standards to stay in business. About the employees, I think there’s still more to do.
The shifts are of 6 hours, with a minimum wage pay, the employees don’t have social
security nor any insurances, they just receive their weekly payment at the end of the
week. Although, the job is easy and doesn’t carry much risks.

For the price and taste, aquamay meets the quality standard of the people
and the required quality of the health department, so the water they sell is safe for
human consumption.

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 For the environmental protection, I’d say it’s achieved, because of the service
they provide. They help the environment by just refilling the 20 liter jugs of water to
the people, promoting recycling and the reuse of the bottles. Also, as the people buy
the water in bulk, they use the water to fill reusable water bottles (of around 500ml
or 1 liter) to drink when out of their houses, instead of buying disposable bottled
water.

For the community needs step, I think that the organization accomplishes it.
Because they provide a service, offering purified water at a low cost for a community
which many times doesn’t earn enough to pay for the price bigger companies ask.
The water is more than safe for consumption, providing people with a safe resource,
so they don’t get sick. Also, as the plant demands for 6 hour shifts, the provide
employment to teenagers, who can earn some extra money when they are not
studying, and many times provides them with their first job, and the experience it
involves.

Finally, for the sustainability step, I think that it has not been achieved yet.
Because it can still do better in all the other steps.

Recommendations

My recommendations are that, in order to become more sustainable, the

company could switch to using solar panels to get the energy needed to run the
plant, so they don’t depend on the energy produced by the Comisión Federal de
Electricidad, which is obtained by burning coal. Also, in order to become more social
sustainable, I’d suggest increasing the payment a little bit more, or giving certain
incentives, to employees who perform their task faster and in a better way. Also, in
order to grow in the social aspect, the company should give its employees more
benefits, like insurance, in case of an accident, or in general, so the employees get
one less thing to worry, which is their health.

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 References

Bote, a. (2019, Octubre 4). Yucatán con varios pendientes a cumplir en Agenda
2030 de la ONU. Retrieved from La jornada Maya:
https://www.lajornadamaya.mx/2019-10-04/Yucatan-con-varios-pendientes-
a-cumplir-en-Agenda-2030-de-la-ONU

Dell'Acqua, C. (n.d.). A River of Civilisation: Works and symbols of water in

different world cultures. Retrieved from UNESCO:
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Venice/pdf/speci
al_events/bozza_scheda_DOW05_1.0.pdf

Denchak, M. (2018, May 18). Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know.
Retrieved from NRDC: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-
everything-you-need-know#common

INEGI. (n.d.). Glosario de términos. Retrieved from Cuentame INEGI:

http://cuentame.inegi.org.mx/glosario/l.aspx?tema=G

Rincón Barrera, E. (2019, May 24). Advierten que se agrava la contaminación del
agua en el subsuelo de Mérida. Retrieved from Diario de Yucatán:
https://www.yucatan.com.mx/merida/advierten-que-se-agrava-la-
contaminacion-del-agua-en-el-subsuelo-de-merida

Water Science School. (n.d.). The Water in You: Water and the Human Body.
Retrieved from USGC: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-
school/science/water-you-water-and-human-body?qt-
science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects

Zumdahl, S. S. (n.d.). Water. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Britannica:

https://www.britannica.com/science/hydrometeor

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