Lima, Peru

Rímac River

Focus area

The river that supplies most of Lima's water, with documented pressure from wastewater, solid waste and upper-basin mining.

Peru Rivers program

In brief

  • The Rímac supplies most of Lima's water and faces wastewater, solid waste and mining-related pressure.
  • A 2025 SPDA article counted 449 polluting sources in the Rímac unit, 324 of them unauthorized wastewater discharges.
  • We focus on supporting local specialists with monitoring, riverbank surveys and community waste prevention.

The place

The Rímac River flows through Lima, Peru's capital. An analysis by the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA) describes it as supplying 80 percent of the city's water, for a capital of more than 10 million people.

Its upper basin, the Alto Rímac, includes areas of intense mining activity, according to a 2023 engineering study of the basin.

Why it matters

A 2025 SPDA article counted 449 polluting sources in the Rímac hydrographic unit: 324 unauthorized wastewater discharges, 122 improperly disposed solid-waste sites and 3 in-situ disposals of substances. It also reports that between 2010 and 2022 the parameters most often exceeding water-quality standards in the Chillón-Rímac-Lurín basin were fecal coliforms, arsenic and manganese.

A 2023 study of the Rímac basin, covering 2018 to 2021, found that concentrations of heavy metals in the lower basin were higher when rainfall and river levels rose in the Alto Rímac sub-basin. Peru's National Water Authority also reported removing close to 8 tons of solid waste from the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers in a single day of work in October 2020.

Our focus

Our focus is on supportive, locally led roles: simple river monitoring with local specialists, riverbank surveys, waste prevention, and community cleanups organized with neighborhood groups. We would also like to support the Peruvian organizations that already work on the river.

Cleanup does not make water safe to drink. Access to safe drinking water is a separate program led by qualified local specialists, with appropriate treatment and regular testing.

Local expertise

Aquafondo, the Water Fund for Lima and Callao, says it works to conserve, protect and restore the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín watersheds. Its website reports 61 projects and more than 320,000 people benefited. The Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA), a founding member of Aquafondo, has published analysis on the Rímac's pollution and recovery.

Ciudad Saludable, a Lima nongovernmental organization, works on solid waste and inclusive recycling. Its sources do not mention the Rímac, so it appears in our directory as a country-level organization to explore.

Next steps

The next steps are to listen: speak with Peruvian water, environmental-law and waste organizations, learn what monitoring and cleanup work already exists along the Rímac, and find out where local teams would welcome extra support.

Organizations to explore

Organization to exploreWorks on this waterway

Aquafondo (Fondo de Agua para Lima y Callao)

Peru

The Water Fund for Lima and Callao, which says it works to conserve, protect and restore the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín watersheds. Its website describes it as a multisectoral platform and lists programs on water seeding (nature-based infiltration), climate education, water efficiency, water access and governance, with 61 projects and more than 320,000 people benefited. A 2013 article describes it as a civil association created in 2010 by Backus, Grupo GEA, Fondo de las Américas, PUCP, The Nature Conservancy and SPDA.

Related focus area: Rímac River

Official website of Aquafondo (Fondo de Agua para Lima y Callao) (external site)

Listing checked October 2026.

Organization to exploreWorks on this waterway

Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA)

Peru

A Peruvian environmental law organization founded in 1986 by a group of students. Its website lists water as an action line, and its environmental policy program has published analysis of Rímac River pollution and recovery (2011 and 2025). It is a founding member of Aquafondo. Its role is legal and policy work rather than field cleanup.

Related focus area: Rímac River

Official website of Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA) (external site)

Listing checked October 2026.

Organization to exploreCountry-level expertise

Ciudad Saludable

Peru

A Lima organization founded in 2002 that works on inclusive recycling, environmental education and integrated solid-waste management. A 2019 Andina report calls it an NGO and describes its partnership with Lima's municipality on recycling stations in central Lima. Its own site does not mention the Rímac, so its relevance is country-level.

Official website of Ciudad Saludable (external site)

Listing checked October 2026.

References

Share what you know.

If you work on or live near Rímac River, we would like to hear what would genuinely help.

Connect with us