Starting at the top: preventing pollution from tanneries and cleaning up the Rio Bogotá

The Rio Bogotá (Bogota River) descends 370 km through the plain of Bogotá from an altitude of 3400 m above sea level in Villapinzón before it discharges into the Magdalena River at 280 m above sea level (Bravo et al., 1999). The upper river is relatively small and shallow with a limited gradient until, halfway along its route; it passes Bogotá, not only Colombia’s Capital City but also an important industrial centre with eight million people. Then the river descends more fiercely. As it arrives at Bogotá, the river has an average flow of 12m3/s, but it then receives at least 15m3/s of mainly untreated wastewater from domestic and industrial activities3