Seven days after a tanker overturned on La Línea road, Calarcá remained in emergency over about 10,000 gallons of diesel reaching San Rafael, El Salado and the Santo Domingo River, with concern extending downstream toward Cartago.
The San Rafael intake closed October 31 to protect the system. Santo Domingo supplied 117-120 litres per second against demand around 140-150, requiring network rotations and tanker support.
Mayor Sebastián Ramos publicly blamed Copetran for lacking a serious contingency plan and sought intervention by environmental, mining and road authorities. His allegation does not replace administrative, civil or criminal findings.
The CRQ deployed surveys, oil-absorbing barriers, containment pools and water, soil and biodiversity sampling. Authorities advised no bathing or contact, and recovery was estimated at 20-30 days depending on conditions.
More than 80,000 residents depend on the system. Diesel can harm fish, invertebrates, banks and intakes; reported fish absence should be documented through counts, tissue analysis and control sites.
Daily communication should cover flow, intake quality, service cuts, tanker routes and reopening criteria. Chain of custody and concentrations matter more than unsupported safety declarations.
Closure requires removing free fuel, treating sediments and banks, restoring fauna where appropriate and monitoring for months, plus an independent cost and transport-failure review.
