Attention all you travellers out there heading to San Cristobal de Las Casas – don’t be naive, I was. The rumours are true; the tap water is contaminated, unsafe and will make you seriously sick. You can’t shower with your mouth open, let alone be drinking it.
San Cristobal de las Casas is such a beautiful, lush mountain town where you’d think the water would be clean and plentiful, but that isn’t the case. San Cris, and the region in general, got its reputation internationally as the town where residents drink 2 litres of Coca-Cola daily.
Locals and businesses must pay for 20L water trucks, which is costly. In a place where fizzy drinks are more available than drinkable water, there’s no doubt why the diabetes rates in Mexico are sky-high.
This post covers how unsafe the water really is in San Cristobal de Las Casas, what to do to avoid getting sick, and what to do if you become unwell (I went through it, so you don’t have to!).
Why is the water so contamined in San Cristobal?
“Coca-Cola pays this money to the federal government, not the local government...while the infrastructure that serves the residents of San Cristóbal is literally crumbling.”
A large part of it comes down to Coca-Cola. On the edge of town, you’ll find a big Coca-Cola plant with a permit to extract more than 300,000 gallons of water per day. The permit was signed decades ago when the town was less touristy and smaller in population and definitely made on the back of a dodgy deal.
Due to the rise in tourism, the town doesn’t have the infrastructure and proper waste management to deal with demand. The lack of waste management means that the city’s raw sewage is flowing into local waterways. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend swimming around San Cristobal, especially in places like Arcotete Park. It’s just not safe.
An interesting YouTube documentary reports this crisis with Coca-Cola and the water. Check it out here: Mexico’s Deadly Coca-Cola Addiction.
How sick can you get from the water in San Cristobal de las casas?
From my experience: very sick.
I was in San Cristobal for two weeks before I got sick. I thought I’d taken the necessary precautions, but I guessed I relaxed a bit and slipped.
One day I felt great, and the next, I woke up and felt started feeling extremely weak and unable to stomach any food or liquids. Only after three days of feeling like shit, I dragged myself to the lab to get tested, and it came back positive with two kinds of parasites and salmonella. All from the water.
The doctor prescribed me a 5-day course of antibiotics and for sure, it worked but it actually wasn’t until I left San Cristobal 6 weeks later, that I felt healthy again.
how do I avoid getting sick from the water in san cristobal?
I’m not only saying you shouldn’t drink the water but you mustn’t:
- Open your mouth in the shower
- Wash any fresh produce with tap water (only filtered).
- Don’t brush your teeth with the tap water.
- Wipe every drop of water off your glasses and plates when you use them.
- Avoid any iced drinks.
- Every time you wash your hands, be sure to wipe them with a towel.
what to do if you get sick from the water in san cristobal?
Here is what you need to do if you feel sick in San Cristobal de las Casas and suspect it’s water contamination:
- Act fast: the faster you are to react, the sooner you’ll recover and the less severe it’ll be.
- Go to the lab: As soon as you feel symptoms of tiredness, belly aches, or diarrhoea, walk into any of the labs dotted around San Cris. To find your closest one, type into Google Maps ‘laboratorio de análisis clinicos’.
- Test your stool and blood: I went for both; the total cost was MXN200.
- Results will be delivered by Whatsapp a few hours later.
- If your results are positive, go see the doctor here. First, you’ll need to go to the pharmacy next door to pay for a consultation (it costs MXN50). The doctor will then look at your results and give you a prescription.
- Go back to the same pharmacy to pick up anything you need.
I hope I didn’t scare you off by heading to San Cristobal de Las Casas. It’s one of my favourite towns in Mexico. Just know how unsafe the water is and follow my advice above!
Check out more San Cristobal blog posts here.
