Contaminated lake provides food, jobs for Nicaragua poor For decades, waste and sewage were dumped into Nicaragua’s Xolotlán lake. Contamination has been reduced thanks to a water treatment plant opened by the government eight years ago, allowing it to become a tourist attraction for the capital. But the lake is also an important source of food and income for people in the Bocana neighborhood of Tipitapa, many of whom live in extreme poverty. IMAGES