Amatitlán Lake Brief: Current State, Experiences and Lessons Learned

ABSTRACT

Lake Amatitlán is the fourth largest lake in Guatemala. It is located within the Pacific drainage basin, 25 km southwest of Guatemala City, and represents the principal water reservoir for the city area and surroundings. Its main tributary is the Villalobos River, which receives water from rivers that are distributed through the 14 municipalities that constitute the lake's 382 km ² watershed. Due to its location, the lake is highly influenced by urban development and population growth, as well as inadequate watershed management. Urban growth has caused the degradation of the surrounding forests and ecosystems. The Villalobos River has become a conduit for domestic and industrial wastewater that flows into the lake, increasing nutrient loads from anthropogenic activities in the watershed and altering the lake's natural physicochemical and ecological characteristics. Therefore, it has experienced cultural eutrophication and is a hypereutrophic waterbody. To recover, the lake requires strong institutional commitment from the Government, local authorities, and stakeholders of the basin in addition to large investments.