Mexico has serious water accessibility and supply issues.

They are not alone in their plight. However, in Canada, we are fortunate and it doesn't seem to affect us as much.

As it does here in Mexico.

March 2007

I remember it like it was only yesterday. The beginning of 36 days without water...

Allow me to clarify. We store our non-drinking water in tinacos (other's also have inground cisterns), so we actually had 4,400L of water. If used very sparingly, this lasts us 20 days and some.

Which, if everything goes according to plan (nothing ever goes according to plan) is just perfect because we received water once every 11-13 days.

Note that although we live in the city, we do not receive "city water". One neighbour that backs on to us gets city water. It is delivered every day. We live about 10 metres up from him. Unfortunately, the city water pumps do not have enough pressure to pump to us. We've begged asked.

Every.single.year.

Unfortunately, this was one of those times where things didn't go according to plan and by Day 15, we knew that something was up. We didn't know how serious it was but we knew to start to conserve water.

We were fortunate enough to have friends nearby that let us shower at their place. We stopped watering the plants. Chinette was the new China. Clothes went unwashed.

By Day 25, we were buying drinking water for the animals. The plants were all gone. The lack of water was all people were talking about.

We had played the game long enough.

We called the Bomberos (Firemen). They were too busy. Let me clarify, too busy to deliver water to us.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

We called the Pipa's.

It's not known where Pipa's get their water from. What is known that it's often visibly dirty. We felt that we didn't have a choice.

Before they were done pumping, our neighbours were lining up with buckets. We helped out as we could. However, if we gave 20 litres to everyone that showed up, we wouldn’t have any for ourselves.

The waiting game continued.

Finally, after almost four weeks of asking, we were notified that the reservoir was dry. They needed to install piping to another one. It would take some time...

After 36 days, water started to trickle in. It was just a tease as regular water (read: once every 11-13 days) wouldn’t be back to normal for at least a month.

Two years later, there was the problem with water pressure.

And just last week, a portion of the pipeline that runs through an ecological reserve (?), has been illegally subdivided into 500 plots. These people will need water. Further putting a strain on the delicate water supply system.

And so the issues of water accessibility continue...

  Besos, The Zoo