After a long period of drought and unreliable water supplies from the state, residents in Mexico are turning their gaze to the sky. Harvesting rainwater has become increasingly important.
Installing systems to utilize rainwater is a growing trend: 40,000 facilities across the country by the company Isla Urbana over the past 15 years and 70,000 by the government of Mexico City (Ciudad de México) since 2019.
Unfortunately, there is little education and limited resources to maintain the systems after installation. This has led to them ceasing to function and parts of the systems being sold due to economic difficulties.
It should be easy to maintain, but it's exhausting, says Palacios Díaz to the news agency AP.
Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a scenario where we not only have environmental problems, but also economic problems.
Women maintain
Palacios Díaz has started the cooperative Pixcatl, a word that means harvest of water in the indigenous language Nahuatl. It is a group of women who help with maintenance to keep the rainwater collection systems running and simultaneously educate residents on how to maintain them themselves. This includes brainstorming to adapt the systems to their own needs and finding alternative solutions with lower price tags.
They focus on areas with lower incomes, such as Iztapalapa, Mexico City's most populous district with 1.8 million inhabitants.
Here, people stand in line from three in the morning to two in the afternoon to get water, says Díaz, referring to queues for water trucks that distribute water.
From water scarcity and rationing
Díaz is on site at a two-story house with some members of the cooperative. The city installed a collection system in 2021, but owner Sara Huitzil Morales has asked Pixcatl for help with maintenance.
They clear debris from the roof, add soap and chlorine to clean the pipes. On the ground stands a large blue water tank that holds 2,500 liters. Once full, it lasts for the household's water needs for several months.
Filters are cleaned and chlorine tablets are added to the tank to clean and disinfect the water.
Sara Huitzil Morales tells AP that she previously endured water scarcity and rationing, and that the generally available water was usually dirty and "dark as chocolate".
The system has changed her daily use of water, and she no longer has to think about whether it is safe to use.
