Bolivia - Environment - Water Treatment

A local indigenous sheep herder walks past a water pipe at The Bolivian Ministry of Water treatment plant at Puchuckollo. The plant is run by state-owned Bolivian water utility EPSAS which manages the water distribution and sanitation services in capital La Paz and neighboring city El Alto. Climate change and the fast diminishing glaciers in the Andes are posing a serious threat to water supplies. Scientists expect that global warming will melt most Andean glaciers in the next 30 years. La Paz and its sprawling satellite city El Alto, are vulnerable to the effects of climate change and the retraction of the glaciers. Over 2 million people in the region depend heavily on the thawing of Chacaltaya and neighboring glaciers for fresh water. | Location: Near EL Alto, Bolivia. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)