Our New Response to Our Regional Water Crisis
Photo: community members working on the construction of a Rainwater Harvesting System.
A Growing Environmental and Health Crisis, Requiring a Diversified and Scaled Response
The Upper Rio Laja watershed, a picturesque semidesert expanse encompassing seven municipalities, including San Miguel de Allende, in central Mexico, is grappling with a dire water crisis that not only paints a stark contrast between lush agriculture and arid rural communities but also poses significant threats to public health for more than 700,000 people. Over-extraction of groundwater by large-scale agriculture is causing wells – most communities’ only water source – to dry up and literally collapse in on themselves.
The resulting water scarcity is further exacerbated by contamination, with arsenic and fluoride running rampant in regional water supplies, inflicting severe health consequences on community members. Dental and skeletal fluorosis, skin diseases, learning impairments in children, chronic kidney disease, and cancers are only some of the numerous health issues resulting from ongoing exposure to these contaminants. We are not alone; Upwards of 21 million are exposed throughout Mexico, and the problem is only worsening.
After more than a decade of working and learning, we intimately understand that this multifaceted challenge demands a comprehensive and collaborative response, bringing together various stakeholders from community grassroots organizations to international academic institutions as well as expert NGO partners and local and state governments. Acting as the central hub of this network, we in Caminos de Agua are strategically integrating and coordinating diverse actors in the fight against water contamination and scarcity and adopting innovative solutions to address the crisis head-on.
GTS: Developed in Our Lab, Now Changing Lives in the Field
For our entire existence, we’ve been working to create practical solutions capable of reaching further in an effective and sustainable way. Our Groundwater Treatment System (GTS) is one of those technologies. Perfectly blending our technical capabilities with the needs and strengths of the people in the communities we partner with, this system is capable of removing arsenic and fluoride from groundwater – two incredibly difficult-to-remove water contaminates – making the water safe for human consumption on an entire community scale. Its replicable design was developed with numerous expert academic and technical partners as well as with the users themselves – transforming them not simply into beneficiaries but rather into the main operators and owners of this technology.
The first GTS, providing the roughly 40 families in the small rural village of Los Ricos de Arriba with their drinking water, has been in operation for two years and is now almost entirely run by a committed group of volunteers.
“We had many years without safe drinking water. While taking care of the GTS is hard work, it’s changed the reality of my family and my community.”
María de Rosario, Early operator of the GTS in Los Ricos
Today, we are now able to take GTS to scale. We are currently in the final stages of construction of our second GTS, capable of providing the 270 families, approximately 1,500 people, in the community of Alonso Yáñez with a safe and affordable source of clean water on an ongoing basis. Like with the system in Los Ricos, the GTS in Alonso Yáñez will be sustained by the community themself, which recently named a young woman, Luz Areli, as the main operator of the GTS moving forward. Over the last several months, Luz has been a part of a committee of Alonso Yáñez citizens organizing to build their GTS. Most recently she, along with other community members, have been working closely with Caminos’ technical staff to learn all the ins and outs of operating the system.
Trying to meet the need in a community the size of Alonso Yáñez, which has fluoride levels more than 5 times the allowable limit, would cost upwards of USD $400,000 with rainwater harvesting (the only other appropriate option). GTS will end up being a small fraction of the price, and the ongoing costs are affordable and taken on by the communities themselves, allowing us to significantly grow our impact in communities most at risk.
While the GTS in “Alonso” is a very significant step, we plan on installing yet another GTS in a similarly-sized community by year’s end.
Transforming Sanitation in Water-Scarce Communities
Photo: community members from San Cayetano standing in front of a Dry Toilet.
The adoption of dry, or composting toilets, once met with skepticism, has emerged as a beacon of hope for families lacking access to water and hygienic sanitation. Living and thriving in water-scarce environments necessitates a range of adaptive strategies to conserve precious water resources. Avoiding the use of water for toilet flushing means that the 6-8 liters of water that would otherwise go down the drain can instead be conserved for other critical water needs. Even more challenging, is the complete absence of any toilet at all in far too many community homes in our region, compelling individuals to relieve themselves outdoors. This may sound surprising, but it's the very grim reality for too many in our region where over hundreds of thousands of residents rely on dwindling groundwater for survival.
Gabriela, from the rural community of San Cayetano, recounts what installing a composting toilet has meant to her family:
“We not only lacked access to water, but we didn’t have a toilet at all. I have three daughters, and we would have to go to dangerous places to do our basic needs. Now that we have [a dry toilet], I feel really fortunate. It’s such a blessing because I’m now finally able to give a dignified living situation to [my daughters]”.
Composting toilets offer a straightforward solution to a significant health and sanitation issue, as well as a widely-recognized global safety problem, especially for women. That’s why Caminos de Agua, in collaboration with the Fundación Gonzalo Río Arronte and CUVAPAS, began implementing this technology in various communities, saving precious water for more critical needs and providing a dignified bathroom for those who once had none. Starting this year, composting toilets will begin taking on a more central role in our strategy as we hope to have nearly 100 dry composting toilets installed by the end of our current initiative.
This technology is crucial in our ongoing strategies to adapt to the realities of an increasingly water-scarce environment.
Water School Initiative: Shaping Future Community Leaders and Educators
Photo: community members at the San Cayetano Community Center taking part in the Water Learning Community - a predecesor to Camino's joint Water School Initiative.
Undoubtedly, one of the most exciting developments this year for Caminos de Agua, and core to our strategy to accelerate change, is the inauguration of our innovative "Water School." This initiative follows the success of our "Water Learning Communities," a collaborative endeavor with INANA, AC, spanning the past three years. (For a comprehensive overview of the Water Learning Communities Program, click here.)
The "Water School'' represents a visionary step forward. A team from INANA and Caminos is leading this initiative, working closely with the Indigenous Campesino University Network to develop the curriculum. This program will weave together an extensive network of expert instructors from diverse organizations like INANA, Salvemos al Río Laja, GAIA, CUVAPAS, SECOPA, the San Cayetano Community Center, Tikkun Eco Centro, our dedicated team at Caminos de Agua, and many others. Over the next three years, this collaborative effort aims to train 30 young community organizers across our watershed in 5 Branches of Learning: Water Technologies (i.e. rainwater harvesting, GTS, and composting toilets), Agroecology & Food, Reforestation & Restoration, Community Communication, and Health.
The objective is clear: to cultivate a new generation of community leaders passionately dedicated to safeguarding our local resources and implementing solutions that increase access to clean water. As we embark on this transformative journey, the launch of the Water School signals a commitment to sustainable community development and environmental stewardship.
Expanding the Scope of Rainwater Harvesting: Watershed Rehabilitation for a Sustainable Future
Photo: community members at the San Cayetano Community Center taking part in the Water Learning Community.
“If the watershed is sick, then I am sick... The watershed is also the future. It means seeing our territory as a dignified place to live.”
The “Collective Voice” of the Water Learning Community Participants, 2023.
In our ongoing pursuit to expand access to clean water, Rainwater Harvesting continues to stand out as a critical, and most actionable, tool. This year, Caminos de Agua is set to undertake an ambitious initiative, constructing a record 350 large-scale Rainwater Harvesting Systems with accompanying filtration in 2024 alongside our key partners and stakeholders including INANA, AC, the Municipal Government of San Diego de la Unión, the Río Arronte Foundation, and, most importantly, our grassroots collaborators – CUVAPAS, SECOPA, and the San Cayetano Community Center.
However, we’re not stopping at the household scale with rainwater harvesting…
This year, we are thrilled to enter into a new partnership with Tikkun Eco Center and Salvemos al Río Laja, AC – experts in reforestation, retention pond construction, and watershed restoration. Together, we are developing an integrated reforestation program that will also restore a large-scale rainwater retention pond as a core deliverable. This initiative, set to make millions of liters of rainwater available for use at the entire community scale, deeply expands our collective approach to the water crisis and is paramount in adapting to the new water challenges facing communities today. We are beyond thrilled to facilitate this program and we are grateful for the collaboration and leadership of Salvemos and Tikkun to bring these solutions to our partner communities.
In navigating the complexities of the water crisis, Caminos de Agua's diversified and inclusive response stands as a model for communities worldwide. Our collaborative, innovative, and community-empowering approach showcases the power of collective action in addressing the multifaceted challenges of water scarcity and contamination.