The Ajusco area located on the southern edge of Mexico City is part of the capital of Mexico, but you would not know it since it is an almost rural community.
Ajusco is isolated from the Mexican metropolis, and one of the most obvious signs of this is that most homes have intermittent access to the city's water system. Residents worry that water service is erratic and there is never enough water, even to the point of having to visit friends or family in the city center simply to wash their clothes or take a bath. While this situation is typical for the thousands of people living on the outskirts of Mexico City, up to 30% of people in more urbanized areas have sporadic access to water, which translates into millions of people. The main problem is that the city's population continues to grow; currently with 21 million residents, the aquifers beneath the city are being depleted. A project called Isla Urbana, a local group is looking for a simple solution to this problem for at least part of Mexico City; rainwater harvesting. Enrique Lomnitz, director of the project says "As the water situation gets worse and worse, our proposal gets stronger and stronger." Lomnitz explains that rainwater harvesting would be a natural fit in Mexico City, as more than a million homes have tanks or cisterns to store water from the city's intermittent water system or water pipes. He also says that "if you implement the collection system in a home you don't need to buy a cistern, as it is part of the infrastructure of the house. It is not a new concept for people to have a lot of water stored in a cistern, and for it to last as long as possible. It's something people are used to doing." According to the group, water from the rainy season in the summer and fall can supply water in a home for up to 6 months. And with tanks already located in homes, the system is very easy and quick to install. All that is required is to add culverts to the rainwater channel, implement new plumbing to dispose of the first rainfall, which is usually contaminated, and finally add water filters.
The total cost per home is approximately $11,000 pesos.
Lomnitz and his team have installed almost 1000 systems in Mexico City, divided between the rural outskirts and the urban center. Learn more about the project at their site: Isla Urbana
Water collection in Mexico City
