The Bogotá river It is a river artery located in Colombia, in the north of South America. It is the main stream of the homonymous basin located in the department of Cundinamarca.
It runs approximately 308 km from its source in the Villapinzón municipality to its mouth in the Girardot municipality, draining an area of 5,886 km² corresponding to 45 municipalities, including the Capital District of Colombia.
In 2014 it was estimated that 9,631,301 inhabitants lived on the Bogotá river basin, of which 80% are concentrated in the Capital District. It has a critical state of conservation and its recovery is a pending task for regional legislators and the national government..
Pre-Hispanic peoples used the river as a pantry and a means of communication for their exchanges. Archaeological evidence confirms that all indigenous populations located their settlements on the banks of the Bogotá River and its tributaries.
With the arrival of the Spanish, the river ceased to be a means of communication because it was not suitable for river navigation with European vessels. However, it adopted new functions: it became a cultural reference and a place of recreation and leisure..
Starting in the 16th century, the government of the colony began the modernization of the cities with the construction of sewers to improve the disposal of sewage and bridges to connect agricultural areas with the capital..
The first bridges built over the Bogotá River were made of wood and required replacement every 6 or 8 years. The first masonry bridge was built in 1665 in Fontibón, a town in the Capital District.
In 1805, the famous naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt set about exploring the upper basin of the Bogotá River, documenting the discoveries of his journey. As a result of his observation, he discovered a small catfish that he named Eremophilus mutisii, better known as the savannah captain fish. Currently it is recognized as an endemic species of the Bogotá basin.
Starting in 1900, a population explosion began that led to a disorderly growth of the cities. With this, works were carried out to redirect the natural channel of Bogotá to take advantage of the land reclaimed from the river to urbanize.
The growth of cities, the agricultural and industrial development on the banks of the Bogotá River and the irresponsible disposal of wastewater, initiated a process of contamination that has currently had a high environmental cost..
From the pre-Hispanic period until today, the Bogotá River has undergone important transformations on its banks.
This river artery houses 26% of the economic activities that generate income and supplies for national consumption on its banks. Among them, agricultural, industrial and livestock activities stand out..
The Bogotá riverbed is the main source of surface water in the Bogotá savanna and the convenient deposit for the residual discharges of more than 9 million people who live around its basin..
Despite not being navigable or having a particularly important channel, it has become a symbol in Colombia. It represents the serious consequences of neglect, the omission of administrative responsibilities and the advances that are possible with the joint work of regional governments and private companies..
The uncontrolled growth of cities and the development of economic activities of a different nature, together with development policies that did not take into account the protection of natural resources, have placed the Bogotá River on an undesirable list: that of the most polluted rivers in the world. world. The contamination of the Bogotá basin has endangered the integrity of the ecosystems that it supports.
There are multiple factors that have affected water quality: firstly, the discharge of urban wastewater - sometimes without treatment or with insufficient treatment.-.
Second, the invasion of floodplains for urbanization and the construction of industries, without taking into account the impact it causes on the balance of ecosystems..
Finally, another determining factor is the permissiveness of regional governments in the face of deforestation, illegal mining and the deposit of solid urban and industrial waste on the riverbanks..
All this has caused a significant deterioration in the natural purification capacity of the Bogotá riverbed, generating a dead torrent due to the loss of oxygen in its waters, which makes the subsistence of plant and animal life impossible. Likewise, in these conditions the water is not suitable for agricultural or urban use..
In 2014, the Supreme Court in administrative matters of Colombia issued a historic verdict, in which it obliges 70 public and private entities to take actions to recover the water quality of the Bogotá River and subsequently protect the water resource.
The actions include the expansion and improvements for the only Salitre Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR) located in Bogotá, the construction of a second WWTP in the Soacha municipality, as well as awareness campaigns and environmental education aimed at the population..
The Bogotá river is born in the Colombian municipality of Villapinzón, in the Páramo de Guachaneque, specifically in the Laguna del Valle at 3,200 meters above sea level. It empties into the Magdalena River, located in the Girardot municipality at 260 meters above sea level.
It travels approximately 308 km over the exclusive territory of the department of Cundinamarca, touching 45 municipalities and the Capital District of Colombia with its waters. For its study, its channel is divided into three parts or sections: upper, middle and lower basin.
It ranges from its source in the Páramo de Guachaneque, Villapinzón municipality to the Puente la Virgen hydrometeorological station, in the Chía municipality. This section has a length of 170 km.
Bogotá runs through the municipalities Villapinzón, Chocontá, Suesca, Gachancipá, Tocancipá, Zipaquirá, Cajicá, Sopó and Chía..
It has a length of 90 km. It occupies the section that is between the Puente la Virgen hydrometeorological station in the Chía municipality to the Muña Reservoir, specifically at a point marked by the Alicachín floodgates, in the Sibaté municipality.
This section runs through the municipalities of Chía, Cota, Funza, Mosquera, Capital District, Soacha and Sibaté.
This section is 120 km long. It ranges from the Alicachín floodgates to its mouth in the Magdalena River, in the municipality of Girardot.
Through this area of the river are the municipalities Sibaté, San Antonio, Tena, La Mesa, Anapoima, Apulo, Tocaima, Agua de Dios, Ricaute and Girardot.
In 2014 the number of inhabitants in the basin was 9,631,301 inhabitants, of which 95% belong to the Metropolitan Region. The remaining 5% are distributed between the upper and lower basins.
The most important city in the upper basin is Chía, located 10 km north of Bogotá. In 2014 it had 123,673 inhabitants. In second place is Zipaquirá with 120,312 inhabitants.
In the middle basin the importance of Bogotá is indisputable. In 2014 the capital of the country had 7,776,845 inhabitants. This city gathers 80% of the population of the basin. In second place is Soacha with 500,097 inhabitants.
In the lower basin, the most important city is Girardot, which in 2014 had 104,476 inhabitants. The rest of the cities in the lower basin do not exceed 50,000 inhabitants.
The Bogotá River is located in the department of Cundinamarca and collects runoff from streams and rivers in the central region of the country and those that come from the eastern mountain range..
From its source to its mouth, it receives the contribution of the Neusa, Teusacá, Negro, Frío, Soacha, Balsillas, Apulo, Calandaima, Chicú and Tunjuelito rivers..
The head of the Bogotá River is 3,200 meters above sea level with a temperature that varies between 6 and 9 ° C. As the river moves towards its mouth, the height decreases progressively while the temperature increases, presenting different climatic types that reach up to 30 ° C.
These variations determine the types of vegetation present in each sector. In the basin of the Bogotá River, there is forest vegetation such as moor, Andean, scrub, gallery and stubble.
It is above 3,100 meters above sea level, composed mainly of friars, bushes and grasslands resistant to soil and temperature conditions. This type of vegetation is found exclusively in the upper reaches of the Bogotá River..
The most common species present in the basin are páramo geranium, páramo clico, rabbit, sanalotodo, violado romerillo, páramo rosemary, frailejón, reindeer lichen, reventadera, agraz, chocho, reed, blackberry, low broom, lycopod and cadillo.
This type of vegetation is found in the upper and middle basin of the Bogotá River at altitudes above 2,700 meters above sea level. Woody vegetation predominates with average heights of 8 meters. The most abundant species are encenillos, gaque, spoon, cheflera, tuno, chuguacá, silvosilvo, chusque, blackberry, salvio, palo blanco, bear's hand, alder, cedrillo, apple tree, colorado, tagua, laurel, borrachero, campano, fern and Espino.
It occurs at 2,600 meters above sea level in areas where the terrain has a slope greater than 30 meters of unevenness for every 100 meters of horizontal advance. They reach maximum heights of 6 meters.
The most common scrub species are campano, puya, mattress of poor, amargoso, chilco, cat's claw, moss, anise grape, peach, chite, tuno roso, angelito, arrayán, orchids, guaquito, bird's eye, cacaito and bogota tea.
This vegetation is found directly on the riverbed of the Bogotá. The most representative species of this type of vegetation present in the Bogotá riverbed are guácimo, cajeto, vanillo, algarrobo, guacharaco, otoba, jobo, mango, gomo, dibidibi, mamey, frijolillo, wild cotton, cedar, samán, tree of bread, cocoa and bay.
Stubble forests are flat terrain close to gallery forests. Low and medium shrubs predominate. The most common flora in the area is developed with species such as madre de agua, diomate, totumo, balso, spearhead, flycatcher, rubber, dinde, milky, guava and huesito.
Like the vegetation, the fauna present in the Bogotá river basin is determined by the climatic types that it presents in its 5,886 km² of extension. In the area occupied by the basin there are species that have been declared in a vulnerable state and in critical danger of extinction..
The habitats supported by the river are a refuge of special importance for migratory birds that pass through its territory on their journey south, looking for warmer climates in which to nest..
There have been approximately 449 species of birds present in the Bogotá basin, among these include the native and migratory ones such as barraquillero, patero falcon, heron, turrio duck, cardinal, paramuna eagle, stone curlew, swallow, ticker, cock of water, blue-billed duck, Bogota tingua, black corocora, blue heron, screecher, wild duck, gray heron and pigeon.
Granny, Canadian duck, collared swift, sugar bowl, whirlpool, racket-tailed hummingbird, heron, snail hawk, squirrel cuckoo, carriageway, turtledove, kingfisher, white eagle, hawk, pimp, guala, sparrow, kestrel, turkey, are also sighted partridge, moorhen, chilaco, horned lark, honeydew, black seedling, tuft, chisga, swallow, toche, tanager, cockroach, blackbird, siriri, woodpecker, yacaro and currucutu.
173 species of mammals have been recorded in the Bogotá river basin, including carnivores, primates and bats. Among the species present in the area are palm bear, ghost bat, mountain fox, marteja, weasel, tigrillo, ghost bat, cusumbo and guache.
The list is completed by the spectacled bear, trumpet bat, armadillo, shrew, chucha, rucho, fruit bat, soche deer, red monkey, limpet, porcupine, curi, anteater, corn monkey, calving cat, tapir, báquiro and guatín.
In the area, 55 species of amphibians and 84 species of reptiles have been registered, among them green toad, banana frog, salamanqueja, marsupial frog, sabanera snake, false coral, needle caiman, stifle, spiny lizard, vine, land snake, coral tail of chili pepper and blue lizard.
The fish present in the river basin are located mainly on its tributaries, since the level of contamination in its channel makes it impossible for the species to survive, mainly due to the low levels of oxygenation of the water..
Around 40 species of fish have been recorded in the Bogotá basin, including nicuro, chimbe, guanina, rainbow trout, cucho, mojarra, sardinata, bocachico, caloche, sleeper and alenca.
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