Accelerated Industrialization Puts Pressure on Tocancipá’s Water Supply

Tocancipá, a small municipality on the savannah of Bogotá, just 40 kilometers from the capital, has seen its population increase from 24,000 to 48,000 inhabitants and has undergone, since 2015, an economic growth of 225% and accelerated industrialization. This development has increased pressure on the town’s water resources.

According to data from the mayor’s office, this municipality ––just 73.5 square kilometers in size and known in the 1980s and 90s as the home of the Tocancipá Racetrack— has 770 companies of different sizes registered with its Chamber of Commerce. Companies include three giants in the ultra-processed food and sugary and sweetened beverage sector: Bavaria, Quala (producer of brands such as Frutiño, BonIce, Quipitos, SunTea, Vive100, and Batilado), and the La Sabana Bottling Company (part of Coca-Cola). 

With the creation of a zona franca (free zone) in 2009, and the entry into force of a revenue statute approved in 2016 by the City Council, which included tax incentives, came the proliferation of companies in the city. This type of “boom” in companies has coincided with a growing problem of access to and availability of drinking water for residents, as VORÁGINE was able to confirm during a visit to the municipality.

The Tocancipá Permanent Free Zone has become a driving force for industrial expansion, but also a source of discord among the town’s citizens. The zone’s 387,000 square meters were declared a “special area” 16 years ago in order to draw manufacturing, trade, and service companies through a series of tax and customs incentives. Cervecería de Tocancipá, part of the Bavaria Corporation, for example, is located there and is, according to information from the company itself, the company’s “most productive” brewery and “one of the most advanced in Latin America”. According to Bavaria, 11.2 million hectoliters of 13 brands of beer and one brand of non-alcoholic beverage (Pony Malta) are produced there every year.

Also of interest: Pony Malta: More than 70 Years Selling a Sugar-filled Drink as “Healthy”

Seven years after the creation of the free zone, the City Council further facilitated the expansion of industry and construction in the area. In 2016, the corporation established tax incentives aimed at “promoting economic development and the creation of jobs” through a new revenue statute. These benefits, however, have been criticized by certain social leaders, who claim that they favor large companies to the detriment of the community. 

VORÁGINE tried to speak with some of the city councillors involved in the discussions to approve the statute at the time, including current council member, Laura Gómez, but was unsuccessful. The same thing happened with Naudi Max Anteliz and Ferney Jiménez. And the Council, as a corporation, failed to respond by the time this article went to press.  

Council Agreement 23 of 2016 granted new industries a 90% tax exemption during the first year of operations, with a gradual reduction in subsequent years, until reaching a final exemption of 30%. The tax break also included specific incentives for housing projects ––particularly those with a minimum of 500 residential units––, such as exemptions from the predial (unified property) tax, depending on the building’s tax bracket and the punctuality in payment. 

Juan Carlos Ballén, chief administrator of Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Tocancipá (Tocancipá Public Services Company), assured VORÁGINE that the new factories and housing developments built during the municipality’s industrial boom comply with all environmental regulations, although he did not specify how many construction companies, for example, received certification in the last year indicating that a property has access to water, sewage, and sanitation services. 

These “service availability” authorizations, as they are known technically, are essential for procurement of building or urban development permits. “During the current administration, we have not granted any “service availability” [authorizations]. We comply with a series of “partial plans” established by the POT (territorial planning codes), which were approved by the environmental authority more than 10 years ago,” said the official.

But Nelson Delgadillo, former mayoral candidate and member of the Community Action Board of the La Fuente area, takes a much more critical stance: “We’ve watched the arrival of an 846-unit apartment complex, which has doubled the population in the last three years. This has increased the demand for water, affecting both pressure levels and the quality of water in our area.” According to Delgadillo, “the water is often yellow or milky in appearance, which makes us wonder whether it is suitable for human consumption.”

This conflict is taking place at a time when several cities in the country, including Bogotá and other municipalities on the savannah, have for nearly a year been forced to ration water. “It isn’t fair that industries are prioritized while communities suffer water shortages and poor-quality water,” Delgadillo emphasizes.

Logically, along with the industrial expansion in Tocancipá has come an increase in the number of water extraction and use concessions granted by the local Corporación Autónoma Regional (CAR), the regional environmental protection entity. Whereas between 2002 and 2014, for example, the entity granted 46 water concessions to individuals and companies, between 2015 and 2023 this figure increased to 81 concessions, of which 80 were exclusively for the extraction of groundwater (that is, the water needed by companies and not by residents for human consumption). 

Other reports on the topic: La Calera: Water for Coca-Cola and Bogotá, but Not for Local Citizens

The Impact of the Sugary Drinks Industry

The water used by industries in Tocancipá is extracted mainly from the Suesca-Teusacá syncline, which extends along the Bogotá River savannah, covering several kilometers and municipalities, including Tocancipá, Suesca, and Sopó. A syncline is a U-shaped geological structure that allows for the storage of underground water. In Tocancipá this water is used mainly for agricultural and industrial purposes. 

Meanwhile, the water supply consumed by residents depends on an aqueduct system managed by the municipal public services company, which in turn is supplied by various micro-basins that make up part of the Bogotá River, such as the Quindigua and Puente Aldana streams, and also buys water in bulk from the capital.

In 2015, Coca-Cola opened a mega plant in Tocancipá, investing 250 million dollars in the production of mineral and carbonated water with a permit from the CAR to extract up to 52.5 liters of water per second, according to data provided by the entity to VORÁGINE. According to Coca-Cola, more than 75 million cases of beverages are produced at the plant each year.

Once a CAR concession is approved (permits are granted for no more than ten years), companies can build water collection infrastructure, including pumping systems and specialized pipes to transport groundwater to industrial facilities. To control and regulate the use of the resource,  however, companies must also install flow meters to record the amount of water extracted and allow verification of compliance with the permits granted. Companies must also keep detailed records and reports of daily consumption and submit them periodically to the CAR.

In a written response to VORÁGINE, the multinational confirmed that it uses 1.17 liters of water at its Tocancipá plant to produce one liter of its beverages. This includes both the packaged product and the liquid used in all processes along the production chain. According to the CAR, in 2023 Coca-Cola paid $66.5 million to extract 622,080 cubic meters of groundwater in the municipality. 

“Water from a spring that previously supplied the community is now pumped into a tank exclusively for Coca-Cola,” says environmental leader and vice president of the Tocancipá Indigenous Council, Pedro Papagayo. 

In the statement sent to VORÁGINE, Coca-Cola announced that La Sabana Bottling Plant uses concessioned well water and that “its capture is independent in terms of sources and infrastructure from the drinking water supply systems of the Tocancipá Public Services Company (ESP, for its Spanish acronym) responsible for supplying the resource to the people of Tocancipá.” Coca-Cola also stated that, as environmental compensation, they have planted 16,000 trees in the area, although the CAR told VORÁGINE that the multinational has actually planted only 11,408 trees.

Unfortunately, there is no clarity regarding the survival rate of these trees or their real impact on the recovery of the ecosystem impacted by the company’s operations. Who verifies that environmental offsets actually mitigate the industry’s impact on water resources? 

The presence of companies of this size in Tocancipá has also influenced population growth and urban expansion. “The current system is not designed to handle the population increase and the resulting problems with water pressure and quality, especially on the upper floors of high-rise apartments in new developments,” says Nelson Delgadillo. “Prior to 2019, there were around 3,500 inhabitants in the La Fuente area. There are now more than 5,500. The new housing estates and residential complexes, with homes designed for one or two families, are now housing up to 25 people due to the informal rental business,” he says. And he insists that this has exacerbated both the demand for water and the failures in the supply system. 

During VORÁGINE’s tour of the municipality we spoke with various social leaders and residents and all the sources consulted stated that rationing, contaminated water, and obsolete sewage systems are the norm. “The pipes are more than 40 years old and were not designed to handle the current load of sediment and water,” explains Jaime Avendaño, a resident of Tocancipá.

Juan Ignacio Balcero lives in the Canavita area, where the Coca-Cola plant is located. He notes that they experience water outages or a noticeable decrease in service pressure at least once a week. Despite these irregularities, their water bills do not reflect any variation in the charges, he says. 

Yeimmy Salcedo, a single mother living in the Las Antenas sector, where she has no permanent water service, is of the same opinion. Frustrated, she sums up the situation: “It’s very sad that money is more important than people. While industries are guaranteed water, we fight for, and are denied, a basic right.”

In the last year, both Tocancipá’s urban and rural areas have faced scheduled water cuts as part of the rationing measures implemented by the Bogotá Water and Sewer Company (EAAB), that sells treated water in bulk to the municipality. In other words, when water is rationed in the country’s capital, supply of the liquid to certain parts of the Cundinamarca municipality will be affected. 

And yet, the manager of the Tocancipá Public Services Company says his municipality is one of the “few”, such as Zipaquirá, that by capturing water directly from the Bogotá River’s micro-basins can guarantee continuous residential service. “It’s important to note that we have not, nor will we, introduce rationing for the residential or housing sector of Tocancipá. Who then is currently affected? Mainly the industrial sector, since planned rationing impacts the main supply network for industries. The rest of the municipality receives water through the drinking water treatment process carried out directly by the municipality,” says the official. His statements contrast with testimonies collected by VORÁGINE from residents in the area regarding recurring outages and fluctuations in service pressure.

The Water Grabbing Debate

Tocancipá is not the only place in Colombia where industrial quantities of water are being extracted while communities living alongside companies with extraction permits face difficulties with their supply. In 2021, VORÁGINE investigated the cases of Sesquilé (Cundinamarca) and Caloto (Cauca), where Postobón bottling plants produce hundreds of millions of liters of bottled water per year while water for the people in those municipalities is scarce and dirty. And, in 2024, VORÁGINE published an investigation that contained a complete overview of the water crisis in the municipality of La Calera, where a Coca-Cola bottling plant also operates, explaining why this case is representative of the debates surrounding water hoarding in Colombia. 

Attorney Yessika Hoyos, president of the José Alvear Restrepo Collective of Lawyers (CAJAR), explains that Decree 1076 of 2015, issued by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, states that all water concessions granted by the State must prioritize human, collective, and community consumption, as well as domestic and community agricultural uses. In practice, however, it seems that exactly the opposite occurs.

“In times of rationing, while households in Bogotá suffer water restrictions with no regard for children or sick people, large industries continue their unlimited bottling of water in plastic,” Hoyos says. For the lawyer, this situation is “unacceptable” because “these companies are not subject to rationing or a reduction in the number of bottles they produce. On the contrary, they take advantage of the shortage to sell us bottled water, generating even more pollution with plastics.”

Hoyos believes that water concessions and permits for industrial use should also include rigorous studies on the environmental impact of these companies. “The CARs don’t take into account the current environmental emergency. These studies must be carried out before granting any type of concession, because water cannot continue to be treated as a commodity when life is at stake,” he concludes.

Water hoarding occurs, for example, when the CAR grants concessions to companies such as Coca-Cola to extract large quantities of the resource, while residents of municipalities such as Tocancipá or La Calera, where the company has bottling plants, face problems with access and supply. Concessions are granted without adequately measuring the impact on water sources, so water ends up concentrated in a few hands. 

Furthermore, as Delgadillo explains, in the case of Tocancipá, “flower companies extract water from deep wells, but during droughts they resort to the aqueduct, generating a deficit for residents.”

Tocancipá’s four drinking water supply systems serve 24,507 subscribers, including homes and industries, that have signed contracts with the entity. According to the Public Services Company, 86% of these subscribers depend on the Los Patos treatment plant, which supplies water to the villages of Verganzo, Tibitoc, and Canavita (where the Coca-Cola plant is located), as well as the urban area. In contrast, the La Fuente treatment plant supplies only 6% (approximately 1,545 families) of residents in the La Fuente area and the La Esmeralda plant covers just 7%.

In addition, a very small percentage ––only 1% of subscribers–– receive water from the Tibitoc plant, through a mechanism known as bulk water sales. This structure requires that Tocancipá purchase treated water from the Bogotá Aqueduct, which is then distributed to the municipality. 

Despite the limitations in water supplies for people, concessions for extracting water continue to operate at 100 percent. “Since 2015, these concessions have doubled, mainly benefiting industries. During this same period, residents have had to face greater restrictions and worse conditions,” concludes community leader Nelson Delgadillo.

“Clearly, ensuring supply to industries has taken priority over the well-being of local communities. Communities have to deal with shortages and poor water quality, while access for businesses is always guaranteed,” he says.

The mayor of Tocancipá, Walfrando Forero, confirmed in an interview with VORÁGINE that the municipal administration has no influence on the regulation of groundwater or on the granting of water concessions to companies. According to him, the mayor’s office can only monitor industrial discharges and discharges into the Bogotá River, but does not control or oversee the amount of water extracted by industries.

Forero defended the tax incentives that have brought new companies to the area and is certain that their presence represents no indiscriminate surrender of the territory. However, he acknowledged that the industrial boom of recent years may have taken place without adequate planning to ensure equitable access to water. 

The mayor also insisted that the municipality has maintained a “balance” between industrial growth and the needs of the community. His administration, however, has yet to present clear figures representing the real impact of industry on water availability. In conversation with VORÁGINE, he avoided questions about whether studies have been done on the decrease in aquifers or the impact of overexploitation of groundwater through deep wells. 

During our conversation, Forero, who in 2023 was disqualified from holding public office for ten years by the Attorney General’s Office, due to an increase of 951 million pesos in his personal assets that he was unable to justify, also dismissed the sanction, arguing that the Prosecutor’s Office had closed the investigation, albeit provisionally. “When the Attorney General’s Office sanctioned me in the first instance, they sent copies to the Prosecutor’s Office. The Prosecutor’s Office conducted a thorough investigation of my case and of my family, and concluded that there was no imbalance in the matter,” said the mayor.

What About Surface Water Concessions for Residents?

The data also reveal a worrisome trend in Tocancipá: surface water concessions, traditionally more accessible to residents, have been almost non-existent in recent years. In contrast, companies have strengthened their infrastructure in order to extract groundwater from deep wells, drastically reducing the availability of this resource for future generations.

Faced with this situation, residents of the Las Antenas neighborhood, one of the affected areas, demand “structural solutions and environmental justice”. Angie Carolina Caicedo, a victim of the armed conflict, is among them. “We have no water service, but have been threatened with the demolition of our homes if we defend our right. It’s inhumane. The indiscriminate granting of concessions must be stopped and the communities’ right to water must be prioritized,” she says.

Yeimmy Salcedo, a single mother and resident of the area, describes how the lack of water affects her daily life. “It’s sad that my children can’t bathe before going to school; while industries are guaranteed water, we continue to fight for something as basic as access to this vital resource.”

The accelerated development of Tocancipá has also resulted in the progressive disappearance of its wetlands and natural water sources. “In 2015, the municipality boasted 86 registered wetlands; today, only 20 are left and many of them are seriously threatened,” says Pedro Papagayo, a prominent environmental leader in the region. These ecosystems, essential for recharging aquifers and maintaining ecological balance, have been replaced by urban developments and industrial projects.

An emblematic case is the El Cortijo wetland, where apartment towers are now being built. Papagayo explains: “Wetlands are essential aquifers, and yet they are being destroyed to make way for apartments and housing developments.” 

And while pointing to what remains of the El Cortijo water mirror, on the highway that connects Tocancipá with Tunja, he adds: “The once natural flow of water in this area is now channeled to industries or has disappeared completely. What was once a vibrant ecosystem is now just concrete and machinery.” 

Despite the numerous challenges they face in accessing drinking water, the inhabitants of Tocancipá have not lost hope that the situation will improve. Leaders such as Nelson Delgadillo stress the importance of creating a “master plan” to modernize the sewer and water networks and guarantee the sustainability of local water resources.

In response to this, Juan Carlos Ballén, manager of the Public Services Company, says that there is already a master plan for sewerage in force until 2028, but he acknowledges that, although some improvements have been made to the network, the infrastructure still depends on designs dating back to 2008 and does not respond to current needs or to the pressure exerted by new urban developments and the onslaught of new industries. For this reason, says Ballén, optimization of the Los Patos drinking water treatment plant is currently underway, with completion scheduled for July 2025. 

In a degree thesis entitled “Water Resource Management Assessment in the Municipality of Tocancipá”, presented as a partial requirement to obtain her Master’s degree in Environment and Development at Colombia’s Universidad Nacional, environmental engineer Claudia Paola Barrera Soler conducted an exhaustive investigation of the administration and sustainability of water in the municipality. After analyzing water resource management policies, concessions granted to industries, and the availability of water to the community, she describes the case of Tocancipá as a clear example of the effects of territorial planning focused on benefitting industries and not communities. 

In an interview with VORÁGINE, Soler explained that the problem lies in an insufficient regulatory framework that allows the excessive exploitation of water resources: “The current system prioritizes economic growth over sustainability. Concessions are granted without considering the environmental limits needed to guarantee the resource in the future.”

The expert also warns that the lack of effective control over companies amplifies the problem: “Despite shortages, industries continue to extract water as if nothing were happening, because there are no legal tools to curtail these concessions during environmental crises.” She also stressed that the impact of industrialization in Tocancipá not only affects the availability of water, but also the quality of the resource. “Many water sources are being contaminated by discharges, and although the law requires permits for this, monitoring of these activities is insufficient. This puts both communities and ecosystems that depend on water at risk.” 

Soler concludes with an urgent call to rethink the municipality’s water management plans: “Without strict environmental determinants, pressure on underground aquifers will continue to grow, affecting future generations and leaving local communities at a disadvantage vis-à-vis industries.”

The story of Tocancipá, with its disappearing wetlands, its communities struggling to access clean water, and booming industries, is a reminder that water is not an infinite resource. The inhabitants of the municipality not only demand equitable and quality access to water, but also comprehensive policies that prioritize sustainability and balance economic needs with environmental justice. 

* This content is funded by support provided, in part, by Vital Strategies. Content is editorially independent and its purpose is to shine a light on both the food and beverage industry illegal or unethical practices and the Colombian most vulnerable populations, who disproportionately bear the brunt of the global health crisis resulting from the unhealthy food and beverages consumption. Unless otherwise stated, all statements and materials posted on this article, including any statements regarding specific legislation, reflect the views of the individual contributors and not those of Vital Strategies.