The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the residents of Santa Rita, La Tabla and Santa Isabel de Río Cuarto of Alajuela and pointed out that some entities ignored the water problems facing this population.
The appeal of amparo presented by the Presidents of the Associations of Systems of Aqueducts and Sanitary Sewers accused the entities of the violation of the right to health and a healthy and ecologically balanced environment of the people who inhabit the communities they represent.
The magistrates decided that for years, the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers, Administrative Environmental Court, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment and Energy, the State Phytosanitary Service and the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock knew of the existence of complaints about the risk of contamination of various springs in the affected communities and, despite this, they failed to fulfill their obligation, taking into account the principle of inter-institutional coordination in environmental matters and the precautionary principle, to address the situation with the necessary haste for this type of problem.
This led to a crisis in the drinking water service in the area, before the start of operation of the springs Brenes, Nicrodal, La Flor del Acueducto de Santa Rica, La Flor del Acueducto de Santa Isabel, La Culebra and Nicolás Rodríguez, due to contamination by agrochemicals.
In view of the current scenario, they ordered the immediate start of the process of sanitation and elimination of agrochemical residues, of the water sources that supply the communities of Santa Rita, La Tabla and Santa Isabel de Río Cuarto de Alajuela, through of a single plan that must be developed jointly by the various actors involved, whose main responsible for its creation and full compliance was designated at the head of the Ministry of Health.
The Chamber was composed of Judges Fernando Castillo (President ai), Paul Rueda, Luis Salazar, Jorge Araya, Marta Esquivel, Hubert Fernández and Ana María Picado.