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The growth of tourism to the Iguazú Waterfalls has brought many changes to the nearby city of Puerto Iguazú. As tourist visits to the Waterfalls have grown from 397,415 in 2001 to 1,188,995 in 2010 the city has seen its populace grow from approximately 32,000 to nearly 70,000 in 2011 as more Argentines move to Puerto Iguazú looking for work.1
The city, like Argentina in general, has gone through boom and bust years with some of the new hotels planned for construction during the 1990s left unfinished for almost a decade following the 2001 economic collapse. The latest version of city growth is taking place in an area known as the “600 hectares” where new hotels are being constructed to accommodate future increases in tourism. The Province of Misiones paid for the installation of infrastructure including water, sewer and electricity lines in this new development
Unfortunately, there are not enough jobs in the city for the population influx. Approximately 40% of the city’s population does not pay municipal taxes due to unemployment or underemployment. The community soup kitchens are serving approximately 7,000 people a day, or about 10% of the city’s populace.
All of this growth has led to serious strains on the city’s housing, water, sewage and electrical infrastructure. While some new neighborhoods like Las Lineas were built with proper infrastructure, other new neighborhoods and some of the older neighborhoods lack the basic infrastructure and services necessary for a “normal” quality of life. A number of these poorer areas jury-rig electrical lines to their homes, do not have running water year round, and lack basic sanitation or drainage sewers. The city is currently relying on two water plants, with a third one in the planning stages. As the number of visitors to the area increases, the problem of having sufficient clean drinking water will only be exacerbated. As it currently stands, the existing water plants are unable to purify enough water to accommodate both the residents and tourists. Moreover, about half of the city’s residents receive their water through wells, rather than via the city water system. Finally, about half of the city is not connected to the municipal sewer system and untreated liquid waste is flushed onto the streets or is sent directly into the nearby Iguazú or Paraná Rivers.