Another great day!

Ok, so I said yesterday was the best day so far, well this one tops yesterday. We just keep meeting great people that make each day so amazing. First we went to the water treatment plant and we saw a presentation about Lake Ypacarai, then we went there. The water treatment plant in Asuncion rivals anything in the states or europe and it was great to have such an up close tour. Most of the potable water in Asuncion comes from the Paraguay River (a huge river, similar to the Columbia), but they have a a few wells. They also treat the wastewater before dumping it in the Paraguay River, but most of the people here are on septic systems. They are working on changing that though.

Then we saw a presentation about the Lake Ypacarai and the basin. Appearantly the huge lake is turning eutrophic and its caused by urbanization and some industry. Many of the wetlands around the lake are being drained and developed, leading to excessive sedimentation to the lake, along with sewage effluent from the developments. The underlying aquifer is being contaminated by the surface activities. We visited the lake and its beautiful, but the area we visited is not where most of the problems are. It is a shame to see such a beautiful place be destroyed.

We visited the town of San Bernardino and it is a beautiful place, a vacation destination. We also got to spend time with our host families tonight, which for myself has been just as great as anything else I have done. Generous people that treat us as if we are family, so I feel as if my family has grown. We are very lucky.
Neil