For 3,000 years people have lived by the Lake Titicaca. The Ancient Incas called it they’re home and believed that the sun was born in the sacred lake but now the lake is filled with rubbish and dangerous waste. Lake Titicaca is the largest and deepest lake in South America and it fills the border between Peru and Bolivia. The pollution isn’t always easy to see because it is so big but it is very obvious along the shore. Inside the water there are also toxic metals such as mercury, lead and illegal gold mines in the nearby towns dump they’re harmful chemicals into the lake as well. 1.3 million people currently live there and many families have worked as fisherman for generations and the problem is that the fish and animals in the water eat the rubbish which makes the fish unsafe to eat. Everyday the lake becomes even more polluted and it becomes harder for people to live there. The water and fish makes them really sick and get rashes and diarrhea. The lake can become all cloudy if the problem continues the blue colour will be completely lost and people living by it would be in a lot of trouble. The chemicals could also make the Titicaca water frogs be extinct. In 2016 the leaders from Peru and Bolivia promised to spend at least $500 million on protecting the lake.
This article is based on an article by News-o-matic.
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