Harvest of rain water as an alternative for water resilience in León, Guanajuato: a reflection from the new culture of water.

Abstract

Contrary to the proposal of the New Culture of Water (NCW), interested in ensuring the human right to water, solidarity, sustainability and broad citizen participation, the Zapotillo is a hydraulic mega project in Mexico that disdains the new trend of models in the management of this water resource. This not only intimidates the new paradigms, but also has created socio-environmental conflicts with the neighboring state of Jalisco. From Guanajuato, the responsible authorities have overestimated the importance of this project in terms of economic and social development for the Bajío. However, there is a bias in the megaproject information, omitting the conflicts in which it is involved, as well as the various alternatives to it. The vulnerability of the Leon Valley aquifer, coupled with the dynamics of economic and population growth in the region, has fueled a discourse of water uncertainty in Leon society, a scenario that may favor the commodification of water from the Verde River. The objective of this paper is to analyze the option of rainwater harvesting as an alternative to the stress scenario in the aquifers and the conflicts in which the city of León, Guanajuato is loca-ted because of this situation. The harvesting of rainwater provides strong social, economic and environmental elements for serious consideration of the official position that has been typecast to El Zapotillo. This eco-practice can lead to the development of a co-water coordinator in line with the NCW approach