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In recent weeks, the state and city of Mexico have experienced a period of extreme water shortages, affecting at least 280 of the more than 1,800 colonies or neighborhoods in the city. Television reports show long lines of people waiting to buy water, dirty dishes piling up and people desperately waiting without being able to shower for days. The drought has disproportionately affected women and girls, who are most often responsible for domestic tasks and collecting water. Faced with the crisis, citizens blocked main streets and took to the streets with banners.
The problem is not new to Mexico City. Less rainfall, a lack of groundwater and poor management have posed challenges for several years. But the seriousness of the situation is increasing. Experts warn that Mexico City could be facing “day zero,” the moment when running water runs out and no longer reaches homes, which estimates suggest could occur in 2028.
The shortage is due to the fact that the basins that supply water to Mexico City, particularly the Lerma Cutzamala pumping and purification system – which supplies 25% of the capital's water – are at historically low levels due to drought and climate change. But there are also serious deficiencies in the supply system, poor historical management, as well as infrastructure damage from earthquakes, aging equipment and lack of maintenance that result in 40% of the fluid leaking.
Although programs have been launched to improve water systems, such as Water for All, a government initiative aimed at rehabilitating pipes and hydraulic infrastructure, the problem does not appear to be improving. Some sources assure that there is no concrete plan to end the crisis.
A group of volunteers cleans the contaminated water of the Chico de los Remedios River in Naucalpan, State of MexicoDaniel Estrada
Against this background, citizen initiatives of people and groups have emerged who have decided to take this systematic problem into their own hands, change consumption habits and support the population. It's not the perfect solution, but collecting water, restoring ecosystems and reducing waste are key to restoring people's connection to this resource. Leaders of these initiatives emphasize that every daily action can have an impact on an increasingly scarce resource.
Collecting rainwater
One of the most important initiatives is the collection and purification of rainwater. Marco Sandoval is founder of the Water for Happiness Foundation and director of Ion Ag+, organizations that install water collectors and purifiers to help communities collect and use rainwater for bathing, cooking and cleaning.
After working as an engineer on large-scale water remediation projects for hotels, Sandoval decided to bring his experience to the communities that need it most and adapt purification equipment to their needs. Its initiatives have worked near Mexico City, in the central states of Michoacán, Tlaxcala and Veracruz, as well as in Chiapas to the south and further afield in Chile.
“What we used to do for hotels obviously didn't fit the needs of a community where the uses, customs and infrastructure are completely different,” says Sandoval. “People in a community want water that is available immediately, and often they don’t want the water to contain chlorine.”
Ion Ag+ works with nanotechnology and uses ceramic balls that create an ionization reaction with integrated silver that eliminates bacteria and requires no electricity. In this way they avoid the use of chlorine, which is commonly used in cleaning but leaves residues. Since 2013 to date, they have helped more than 95,000 families gain access to water. Thousands of people now have access to water in their own homes.
“The first thing people notice with the system is that they no longer have to walk to look for water in the sun, and their feet or knees are not affected by the weight of the water they were previously carrying , hurt,” says Sandoval. He adds that this is particularly beneficial for women and children, on whom the task of fetching water often depends. “The change from a two-hour walk to a water source right behind their homes is huge.”
In addition to providing communities with access to water, water purifiers also help prevent disease. Consuming contaminated water is the cause of death for 2.2 million children per year in developing countries: it is estimated that more than 350 children under one year old died for this reason in Mexico in 2019.
A man uses the Ion Ag+ system, a system that treats water using an ionization reaction to eliminate bacteria and residual chemicals. Ion Ag+ (Courtesy)
There are large-scale initiatives like Isla Urbana, an organization that provides water collection and treatment to low-income people and rural communities around Mexico City. They estimate that their activities have given more than 584,000 people in the capital access to water since its launch in 2009.
One of the limitations of rainwater harvesting is that the technology may face limitations due to lack of rainfall. In Mexico City and the surrounding area, the rainy season is usually between May and November.
Cleaning the flow of citizens
“Enchúlame el Río” is a civic project by Daniel Estrada, a social entrepreneur who became interested in rivers ten years ago. He took purification courses in Mexico and Spain and decided to clean the contaminated water of the Chico de los Remedios River in the municipality of Naucalpan, near his home.
Estrada understood that rivers are essential to the water system as they help recharge aquifers, which is critical to ensuring a sustainable water supply for the city. He involved his community in his cleanup efforts and made the river better known. Now the “Enchuladas” take place on the last Saturday of every month. Members of the community, representatives of companies and organizations gather and, wearing rubber boots and gloves, collect garbage bags, diapers, tires and tons of trash from the river.
After ten years, Estrada confirms that they have managed to extract 250 tons of garbage and that this has changed the course of the river, which had previously been stagnated by garbage. The bad smell has improved and the community has seen more flora and fauna. In addition to the impact on nature, community members were given a goal, the entrepreneur says, and other cleanup initiatives emerged in the community.
Estrada remembers that at the beginning of the event it was difficult to get people to come, but as they saw the impact and word spread, the project grew. Currently there are up to 120 people per day, which creates a feeling of belonging. They are currently demanding that the National Water Commission (Conagua) set up a working table to formalize their work. Now they want to work with other organizations to develop water purification technologies such as biodigester and a system using worms, among other things.
Ecological toilets
One of the highest water waste areas is traditional bathrooms. A typical toilet can use up to 16 liters per flush. Raimundo Acevedo Aguilar, industrial designer, became aware of the enormous waste of water and decided to create his own dry bathroom at home. It has been collecting human waste and separating solids from liquids for more than five years. To avoid odors, use sawdust or natural dry fiber. The company then applies techniques to produce high-quality compost, which it uses to fertilize land and promote regenerative agriculture projects.
“Water is not a conveyor belt for waste, it is a conveyor belt for life,” says Acevedo. “Water is not suitable for treating organic matter, so human waste should not enter the water cycle.” It ensures that an ecological toilet system can save more than 15,000 liters of water per person per year.
After initial success, Acevedo began sharing his experiences with friends, family and online and organizing events to publicize his proposals. He assures that the project succeeded in changing the practices of a group of people from his same community who were inspired by the dry bath in Mexico City and adopted it. He also founded the Live Dry Bath User Network, an organization where thousands of people share best practices for water use.
For people who are unable to install their own bathrooms, there is a larger toilet eco service that installs modern-style dry toilets in Mexico City and other cities in the country and has a waste collection service that is processed and agricultural used. There is also a course and workshop service for users to answer any questions about operation and concerns about bad smells or disinfection of waste. WC Eco estimates that this service has saved more than 15 million liters of water since 2017 and the compost has created more than 180,000 kg of fertile land.
Participants of the workshop on ecological toilets in Mexico City. Raimundo Acevedo (Courtesy)
Small changes, big effects
Although these initiatives are still in their infancy, they are invaluable in promoting water conservation and encouraging habit change in a future of scarcity.
The serious water problem in Mexico is that efforts are currently focused on expanding the drinking water network without ensuring the distribution of the liquid, leaving sanitation in second place, said recently the president of the Agua en Mí association. ©xico Juan Francisco Bustamante to a Local media. He added that plans for the future focus on building more dams and aqueducts and adapting and modernizing supply infrastructure, without taking into account other areas of the natural water cycle.
According to the expert, it is important to change the approach to the use of the resource to focus public policies on the reuse of the liquid and the capture of precipitation, taking into account the virtuous cycle of water. In this sense, citizen initiatives have keys that could contribute to public policies that take into account the rehabilitation of aquifer systems, the health of rivers, the collection and purification of water, the reuse and the optimal use of the resource and its natural cycles.
This article was published in collaboration with Chinese dialogue.