August is National Water Quality Month and World Water Week begins on August 25.
This year, the rains have been sporadic at best. Approximately 21% of Mexico was suffering from severe drought going into the rainy season. With scant rains in some areas and torrential rains in the other, things haven’t improved. The parched earth hasn’t been able to absorb the quantity of water needed and mudslides and flooding have been the result.
Global climate change is affecting Mexico’s delicately balanced ecosystems. In particular, the water cycle has been disrupted resulting in less water runoff. That coupled with the seal level increases on the coast from the rise in surface temperatures in Mexico and the increasing intensity levels of hurricanes, and we’ve got a full-fledged disaster in the making.
With unreliable rainfall, crops fail. With inadequate water supplies, livestock dies. With food supplies dwindling, the people of Mexico starve.
Then let’s talk about water quality in Mexico. Estimates are that more than 12 million people in Mexico do not have access to potable water. Inadequate environmental protection laws and corruption keep any real water clean up process from happening.
Take for example the rural communities of Hidalgo. Sewage from Mexico City is pumped directly into their water supply. Mexico City produces 34,000 liters of sewage per second. Is it any wonder that more than a quarter of the children born in these communities have birth defects.
Water is, therefore, a dwindling resource in Mexico.
Water is a precious commodity to us personally here in La Yacata as well. The rainy season lasts from June until the end of September. The rest of the year, we must order a pipa (tanker truck) every few months to ensure we have enough water for our animals and such. We are careful with our water consumption and have been working towards permaculture in the back yard. I’ve broken down how we conserve water here.
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