Water Issues in Mexico

TEHUACAN, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 5: Local people collecting water from a muddy waterhole February 5, 2006 in San Marcos Tlacoyalco. Surrounded by barren land, this pool was intended for livestock but families now come to collect water for bathing and laundering in the face of shortages. The Tehuacan Valley South-East of Mexico City has long experienced severe water shortages. Drought and climate change have contributed to this but recent industrial growth has also placed tremendous strain of a very limited ground water resource. Big industry has taxed this resource so severely that many small farmers and rural people have had no choice but to move closer to the cities and abandon their traditional lives. Water resources in the area area largely based on a weekly delivery by truck as well as collecting water from small pools known as Jagueys. This collected water was traditionally only used for animals but now more and more people are relying on it as a water source for crops and for drinking and bathing purposes. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)