Ecuadorians tired of waiting for a cleanup of Guayaquil’s filthy waters

A World Bank loan helped privatise sanitation in Ecuador's largest city, but some residents say they still lack clean water and claim the river is polluted with sewage

The waters flowing through Estero Salado, a river delta in Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, can be deceptive, even for those who have lived their entire lives alongside the filthy and meandering estuarine network.

"We know the water is not clean, but you build up a tolerance," says 21-year-old local activist Jasmanny Caicedo. Though he says he can take a dip without becoming ill most of the time, even Caicedo says he gets caught out on the "really bad pollution days".