How to make 8 weeks of rainwater last for 52 weeks

The Story of Erica Martinez
A Mother Facing Our Water Crisis Through Rainwater Alone

San Cayetano – a small rural community an hour north of San Miguel de Allende and part of our shared watershed – is deeply affected by both water scarcity and water contamination, with many still walking an hour or more just to access a “safe” water source or paying from their limited resources to have water trucked in. This water, unfortunately, is often contaminated with biological and non-biological contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride, making it a continuous threat to the health of the families living in the area. We have a long history of collaboration with this community. Beginning more than a decade ago with Father Juan Carlos Zessati – a catholic priest with the San Cayetano Community Center – and CUVAPAS (United Communities for Life and Water), a local grassroots organization representing dozens of communities. Partnering shoulder to shoulder with CUVAPAS, we have helped thousands of people expand their access to a sustainable source of clean water through rainwater harvesting. 

One of those people is Erica Martinez, a mother of two who built her first rainwater harvesting system in a joint project with Caminos de Agua and CUVAPAS over 6 years ago. Today, Erica and her family rely solely on rainwater for ALL of their water needs. Erica’s story is exemplary, and we think her words speak for themselves.

Photo: Erica Martínez with her son. 

What’s the water situation in your community like? 

We have both water scarcity and water contamination. We’ve had conversations with Caminos de Agua regarding the contamination in our water, about the diseases this causes, and this was obviously something that I didn’t want for my children. I have neighbors and people from my community who have their teeth stained yellow [fluorosis from excessive fluoride in the water] – which was something we didn’t know was connected to drinking this contaminated water… [Also] not every house is connected [to the community well], and, in my case, we are just too far away [for the water to reach us]. 

What do you think about the water usage in our region?

It really is frustrating. Very saddening. There are a lot of big factories, and we cannot contact them because we don’t even know who they are, so it is difficult to convince them to have better water use even when we know how much they use to produce their stuff. It’d be a great option if they could build gigantic rainwater harvesting systems since they have the funds and means to do it. 

What was your experience like building rainwater harvesting systems?

We all worked together, including during the [educational] workshops. We [organized] together by families, and it took a week to build [each rainwater harvesting system]. We had to work in teams so we wouldn’t get exhausted. We would help build one system, and then we would go to the next one, helping to build the systems of our fellow community members through this group work.

It was a really beautiful experience. There were a lot of families [participating]. For instance, at my mother-in-law’s house… you could feel the support and the willingness and eagerness to work together and, above all, the eagerness to have clean water. When [Caminos de Agua] conducted studies of our wells, they explained to us that we wouldn’t be able to continue drinking that water as it was highly contaminated. That was the main source of water for us.

Photo: A group of beneficiaries and others working on a ferrocement cistern belonging to a rainwater harvesting system from a fellow community member. 

Can you tell us more about your experience with rainwater?

When we began living in this house, we had great luck because it was May and the rains were good and my [rainwater] cistern filled up nicely. So, we put ourselves in the mindset of conserving as much as possible since the other option would’ve been to buy water or go to the closest municipal water supply, which is just too hard for us. 

But in the beginning, the rainwater only lasted for four months. We were using it to drink, to cook, to wash the dishes, and to shower. But then we realized that we were using it too fast. The next year, it rained in July but it wasn’t enough to cover all our needs. So, we created another rooftop collection system that allowed me to use that extra water for washing our clothes and watering the plants. Still we felt that our rainwater was getting used up too fast, so we [began] recycling the rainwater we had used for washing [to flush] the toilet. Then I researched more, and I started buying biodegradable soap so I could use the laundry water for watering my plants too. 
Now we shower with little buckets of rainwater, around 10 liters each, and that’s actually more than enough! And then we collect the [shower] water and use it for the toilet. I kept researching and practicing better ways to save even more water. And so now, when I do the dishes, I separate water in three different containers, one is just reutilized water to get rid of all the waste, the second is water with a little bit of chlorine and soap, and the other one is clean water where we finally rinse the dishes. But the water with chlorine and soap I can recycle to mop the floors. 
 

How does it make you feel to have total control over your water supply?

I see my son now, how he’s learned to be mindful of water and how on his own he’s helping us save as much as possible. He collects the water from showering and saves it for his own uses. It makes me really happy because I think it is a gift from me to him.

What motivates you to care for water as much as you do?

Above anything else, it’s my children. It’s really sad to be in this situation, but there isn’t much I can do but to take care of my own family and myself first and foremost. But I also try to talk to friends and family about how I use water and how I’ve tackled my situation in the hopes they’ll take action… I’d like to teach my friends and close community about my own water use and how I make it work. I constantly hear people saying there’s no water, and I think to myself “you should learn how to use it!”. 

I would like to tell everybody how to use water in a conscious way. I’d like to share my experience with rainwater with as many people as possible.