[4] The river mouth opens at El Quetzalito Beach, which is located along the Guatemalan coast, and flows into the Gulf of Honduras.

[3] Green jade, which was used by the Aztec and Maya people, was re-discovered in the 1950s by American geologist William Foshag, who was directed by a local tomato farmer.

[9] The river's use as a trade route is evidenced by jade items and specific methods of pottery having been discovered across multiple different regions in Mesoamerica.

[9] Pollution is reported to have first affected the river in 2003 when industrial waste from a power plant in Guatemala City was carried down the Río Las Vacas, one of its tributaries.

[14] Water quality regulation policy also often fails to dictate responsibilities between the government and individual departments, and has not been adequately implemented or coordinated at the administrative level.

[15] The river is highly polluted with untreated sewage, industrial waste, tons of sediment (garbage) and blackwater from Guatemala City carried by the Río Las Vacas tributary.

[2] Additionally, members of coastal communities must often pick up the trash themselves and are financially burdened by the effects of pollution on popular industries such as fishing and tourism.

[18] Though the right to safe drinking water is mandated in Guatemala, it is obstructed by poor waste management regulations and limited government intervention.

[18] The Ocean Cleanup also chose the river as the test site for its experimental "Interceptor Trashfence", which attempts to filter out solid pollutants as they flow downriver.