The Ozama River, the vital water source for Greater Santo Domingo that divides the National District from Eastern Santo Domingo in Greater Santo Domingo, is under the threat of tons of solid waste that continue to accumulate at the Santo Domingo Este city government Cancino transfer station, mere meters from its bank. This ongoing operation blatantly violates a two-year-old mandate from the Ministry of the Environment that required its definitive closure, Diario Libre reports.
The transfer stations in Santo Domingo Este —the nation’s most populous municipality, generating between 1,500 and 1,600 tons of solid waste daily— were ordered shut down by then-Environment Minister Orlando Jorge Mera in 2022. Resolutions 0006-2022 and 0007-2022 cited their location within the protected Ozama Wetlands area as the reason for total closure.
Diario Libre points out that the continuing environmental hazard continues despite the recent declaration by the Executive Branch on 11 September, under Decree 531-25, which named the Ozama and Isabela rivers as areas of “high priority.”
Mayor Dio Astacio of Santo Domingo Este acknowledged the situation to Diario Libre reporter Adalberto de la Rosa, but defended his municipal government’s “control” of the dump, asserting that the amount of garbage is “less” than before. He stated his office has never lost control of the station and that the current waste levels are similar to what is typically held, with occasional spikes due to truck breakdowns or other events.
The environmental threat extends beyond Cancino. In the San Luis Municipal District, the same 2022 resolutions applied, yet an improvised dump site has expanded to the point where waste is dangerously close to the river.
Earlier this year, the Integrated Solid Waste Management Trust (DO Sostenible) intervened at the San Luis site, which had been plagued by a days-long fire. Despite the intervention and a request for aid from Municipal Director Wendy Cepeda due to high costs, dumping persists. The volume of new waste is so significant that the road connecting to the Circunvalación highway is now nearly blocked by trash.
Environmental experts warn that the proximity of the waste to the Ozama River constitutes a clear violation of both the recent high-priority decree and existing environmental resolutions.
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Diario Libre
6 October 2025