Aly Melendez

GEOG 1000
April 8, 2018

Water
Water is one of the basic human needs that we often take for granted in the United States, in
part it’s because water is easily accessible to most people, so in turn we do not think about how
privileged we are when it comes to water. The United States average water usage is 2,220 gallons a day.

In my household of three people, we use an average of 6,912 gallons of water a day. Which
means that I use an average of 1,596 gallons of water daily. My contribution to the water usage is lower
than the national average for several factors, one of the biggest is that I live in an apartment complex.
Since I live in an apartment complex, I don’t have a yard to water. We don’t have a bath tub and we
don’t have to go to a laundromat to do laundry. To my surprise, one of the biggest contributors to my
water footprint is being an omnivore that eats at least twice a day. I wasn’t aware that the production of
food required a lot of water to make. The thing that I found the most interesting was that a full load in
the dishwasher saves more water than washing the dishes by hand.

Our neighbors to the south in the country of Mexico are a country that are almost as developed
as the United States but have different water problems. Mexico City has to get their water by pumping
them from groundwater reservoirs. Mexico City is one of the most populated cities in the country and
most of their water comes from pumping the water to sustain the large population. In an article
published by The Guardian states that “Getting the required billions of liters up to this megalopolis –
2,400m above sea level – is one of the world’s great feats of hydro-engineering.” Mexico is
geographically a desert so it has to retain as much water as possible to continue providing for the
population.

“About 25% [of water] runs off into rivers and lakes. Only roughly 2% seeps down to recharge
subterranean aquifers (Rhoda 2010).” Water in Mexico is being pumped out at higher rates than it can
be replenished. This has led to a problem in the water they have available. In Mexico water is
proportionally put in different usages. According to the excerpt from Geo-Mexico: the geography and
dynamics of modern Mexico book “Nationally, about 75% of water consumption is used in agriculture
while settlements and industry use about 17% and 8% respectively.” Which means that the small
amount of water they have goes to different places of the usage. This doesn’t take into consideration
the water that’s already polluted.

It seems that Mexico gets most of it’s water from pumping water. Water is also heading towards
a privatized ordeal, where in the article it mentions that some indigenous people are not getting water
from the water plant in the area (Watts 2015). It further goes to explain that because the water is being
pumped out, the land has become dry which has led to negative repercussions on the environment. The
water must make a long journey from the water plant in Cutzamala to Mexico City.

There are many foreseeable issues with a process like this one including possible leaks in the
pipes, problems with the treatment plant and natural disasters. Mexico City is highly populated and it’s
unknown for how long this process will be able to continue sustaining this thriving nation. Sometimes
water is not available in all areas of the country and this proves to be a conflict especially in rural and
poor parts of the country.

In the case of water in Mexico, I think that as a country they should move towards a desalinating
oceans process. In the broadest of terms and ideas, desalinating the ocean water sounds like it would
prove beneficial for a country like Mexico that is currently pumping out the groundwater. What the
government should be doing now is helping keep the rural areas’ water sources clean and unpolluted.
Not privatizing the water would also be a good way to keep cost of water down, especially for those
who have economic issues. Water is a basic human need and should not be privilege.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to not have easily accessible water in my home and I am
grateful to know I don’t need to worry about if my water will be polluted or not. I think that I am at a
relatively good average of water usage, I could possibly improve by using the dishwasher more
frequently instead of handwashing the dishes and cut down the time in the shower by at least five
minutes.

Works Cited
Watts, Jonathan. “Mexico City's Water Crisis – from Source to Sewer.” The Guardian, Guardian News
and Media, 12 Nov. 2015, www.theguardian.com /cities/2015/nov/12/mexico-city-water-crisis-
source-sewer

Rhoda, Richard and Burton, Tony. “Chapter 6.” Geo-Mexico: the Geography and Dynamics of Modern
Mexico, 2010. http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/3576-water-consumption-in-mexico