Why We Exist

In the semi-arid highlands of the State of Guanajuato in Mexico, thousands of families in rural communities are shocked to find out that their main source of water, which in many cases they have been depending on for generations, is severely contaminated with arsenic and fluoride. Those who consume water laced with these contaminants face serious health risks including the browning of teeth (dental fluorosis), skeletal fluorosis – a chronic disease that deforms and weakens bones, learning disabilities and serious cognitive disorders in children, kidney disease, and proven links to several types of cancers.

The fact is that, each year, due to the ever growing agricultural industry in this region, which is almost exclusively for export, local water supplies are being depleted at an incredible rate. The water table is dropping dramatically (at least 3 meters, or 9 feet, per year), forcing wells deeper and deeper into ancient “fossil” water, which is, unfortunately, contaminated with naturally-occuring arsenic and fluoride. The result is a rapidly growing crisis that is wreaking havoc on the health and livelihoods of thousands in our region.

For nearly 10 years, at Caminos de Agua, we have been working towards our mission to improve human health and community well-being through adequate and affordable access to clean water. Along with water quality monitoring, education programs, and installations of rainwater harvesting and other systems, we have also been developing technical solutions to these incredibly complex water quality problems that face our region.

In fact, at this moment, literally as we write this, our most important technological development to date is coming to fruition.

We’re on the Cusp of a Major Breakthrough

For years, we have relied upon rainwater harvesting systems as our primary technology to create access to clean water, and it is still very important to us, especially when dealing with a water supply that is drying up. But rainwater systems also have some limitations, specifically in that it is a labor intensive and time consuming process with a high initial cost. So, over five years ago, when we identified arsenic and fluoride as the core drivers of our water crisis, we committed ourselves to delivering a cost-effective, and scalable, solution that could remove these contaminants on a community-wide scope helping get the next generation off of arsenic and fluoride contaminated drinking water.

Colorless, odorless, and tasteless, arsenic and fluoride are not removed by traditional methods and most commercially-available treatment systems. Initially, we set out to research and evaluate best practices and the few technologies readily-available. Unfortunately, a combination of circumstances, including the chemistry of our regional water, made it impossible to use off-the-shelf solutions. So, we decided we had to develop our own.

Today, five years later, with tens of thousands of hours invested in the lab and in the field; with nearly 30 long-term technical interns coming through our doors, supervised by our staff engineers; with successes and failures; and with seemingly endless testing, our “Groundwater Treatment System” (GTS) is fully operational and has officially just gone online in its first community-wide test. This is the final step before more wide-scale implementation. Over the next 12 months, we will test the ability of GTS to effectively and continuously filter arsenic and fluoride while producing safe drinking water for a local community – 15 minutes from downtown San Miguel. The learning from this critical step will allow us to roll GTS out to bigger populations as well as fine-tune our strategies for community education and training.

We Won’t be able to Cross the Finish Line Without YOUR Help

GTS will change the paradigm for water treatment in our region and beyond. It will deliver an effective and appropriate solution to people, families, and communities at risk and do so faster and less expensively – allowing us to mitigate horrible health risks and economic devastation.

But getting there is a costly proposition, especially for a lean, scrappy NGO like us. We need to fund expensive testing, supply additional equipment, and provide badly-needed staff. So, if you are one of the many making decisions about your annual giving this month, please consider making Caminos de Agua a priority. As always, we are so appreciative of you, our supporters, and the way you have come through for us and continue to help us impact more people.