Bogotá River

Map of the Río Bogotá and its catchment area

The Río Bogotá is a tributary of the Río Magdalena. It rises north of Bogotá, the small town Suesca happened on the northern edge of the Sabana de Bogotá. The further course in a southerly direction through the west of the cities of Bogota and Soacha.

A few kilometers to the power of the Río Bogotá Soacha leaves the plateau and crashes shortly after the village of El Charquito about the famous Salto del Tequendama about 150 meters straight down. In the course of it he is a wild river, which covers a difference in altitude of about 2000 m over a distance of less than 200 km to the mouth.

The large differences in height are used along the river in numerous hydropower plants for energy. Therefore, the Río Bogotá often results in very little surface water, especially between Soacha and La Mesa. Also the Tequendama Falls then falls almost dry.

State

The Río Bogotá is one of the most polluted rivers in South America, probably in the world. He is currently taking on the waste and faeces of an estimated 8 million inhabitants, and the whole industry in the south of Bogotá. Between Mosquera and Soacha Although there is a mechanical treatment plant, but this is completely overloaded. This can only handle four cubic meters per second = 126'144'000 tons, but the city throws off 438'000'000 tonnes of organic waste per year

For the renewal and expansion of the wastewater treatment plant and the rehabilitation of 90 km of the river about 1.2 trillion Colombian pesos are what are 7 % of the tax revenue of the city, has been provided. The Megaproyecto río Bogotá project has a scheduled maturity of 3 years. The expectation is that after the waters of the Río Bogotá at least can be used for irrigation of the many agricultural areas of the region again. The second phase includes the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant for $ 350 million, of which only 50% of the costs to be borne by the city but.