Water Resources La Paz, Bolivia
This project analyzes "Bolivia's worst water crisis". A recent water crisis that occurred in the city of La Paz where 94 neighborhoods did not have access to water for 4 months. There are many confirmed and potential causes to why the 3 main dams that supply water to La Paz and parts of El Alto reduced to ~5% of their capacity. However this map only explores the effects of mining on water resources.
Bolivia has always had political and economic issues with its water management structure that have prevented and still prevent universal access to water in the country. The Structural Adjustment Programs in 1989 marked the start of water privatization in the country. These programs were part of prescriptive approaches by the IMF, WTO and the World Bank to end poverty in the developings world. The SAPs encouraged open barriers to trade and the privatization of public resources. The privatization of water resources in Bolivia was followed by the WATER WARS, in which citizens demanded the end of privatization as they were corrupt and inefficient systems. 2006 marked the start of state ownership and control of water resources and the development of a new Constitution. The new Constitution established rights to water as a human right, stressed the protection of mother earth and Indigenous Rights.Nevertheless, through the recent water crisis and its causes, we can see universal access to water and sanitation is still a far reaching goal for the Bolivian population.
Bolivia has always had political and economic issues with its water management structure that have prevented and still prevent universal access to water in the country. The Structural Adjustment Programs in 1989 marked the start of water privatization in the country. These programs were part of prescriptive approaches by the IMF, WTO and the World Bank to end poverty in the developings world. The SAPs encouraged open barriers to trade and the privatization of public resources. The privatization of water resources in Bolivia was followed by the WATER WARS, in which citizens demanded the end of privatization as they were corrupt and inefficient systems. 2006 marked the start of state ownership and control of water resources and the development of a new Constitution. The new Constitution established rights to water as a human right, stressed the protection of mother earth and Indigenous Rights.Nevertheless, through the recent water crisis and its causes, we can see universal access to water and sanitation is still a far reaching goal for the Bolivian population.
Experts opinion and research point to several issues that contributed to the water crisis.
On November 2016 the government publicly apologized to citizens of La Paz, claiming that the entity in charge of providing the service, EPSAS had not informed them that dams had been in a precarious state. Main causes:
- Climate Change
- Unaccounted water demand
- Low investment in infrastructure upgrades
- Extractive Industries: mining
Bolivia is rich in mineral resources like tin, copper, silver, gold. The Mining industry accounts for ~10% of the countries GDP but is also culturally important for the country, therefore demanding remediation or stricter environmental regulations is challenging
Studies show about 63% of the country's watersheds which cover 41% of the country are contaminated by the mining industry. Moreover research in 2010 showed the Incachaca dam (dam for human consumption) had mining contamination. Further research is needed to establish how much water is extracted by both foreign and national mining corporations and also to analyze to what extent water resources for human consumption are contaminated.
Mining Concessions, bodies of water and all 27 dams.
CLICK CHECKBOXES TO OBSERVE:
- Rivers at risk of mining contamination
- Dams at risk of mining contamination NOTE: Incachaca, Hampaturi, Kunkihara, and Ajuankhota all had reduced capacity during water crisis- and surprisingly also fell in the 30 meter buffer. The only two exceptions were Estrellani and Chojlla (which fell in buffer but did not dry out)
- Observe the condition and capacity (m3) of all dams
- Observe the location of all minor and major rivers
SPATIAL DATA COLLECTION SOURCES:
- Geobolivia.com
- DIVAGIS
- BIVICA & MMAYA
- CEDIB
SPATIAL ANALYSIS STEPS:
- Extract data only for La Paz
- Map individual dam coordinates
- Created a 30 meter buffer around dams
- Mapped dams and rivers that fell in the 30 meter buffer
*A 30 meter buffer was created based on the study of Mining impacts on natural resources by a study analyzing vulnerability of water resources which establishes that water bodies 30 meters of a mine are at high risk of contamination.
Although further research is needed to determine to what extent mining affects the water extraction in La Paz and in all of Bolivia, studies have shown that there exist high levels of contamination in some of these sources. Therefore more studies should be done to assess the quality of water near the dams but also in the urban areas.
Taking into consideration the political and economic barriers solving some of these issues-specifically the mining issue-is a great challenge. Therefore communities, specifically low income should explore other methods such as:
- Rain Water catchment systems
- Decentralized water treatment plants
- Demanding the public release of information
Finally the government and other public entities should address the issue of water sanitation. This is mainly because 70% of residual waters are returned to rivers untreated, which means all this water cannot be reused for agricultural or industrial purposes and is lost.
Please contact Patricia Oviedo (oviep278@newschool.edu) before reusing or citing this information.
Hampaturi at Full Capacity
Hampaturi Dam at 5% capacity
For more information about the research project and full paper contact:
Sources:
Spatial Data Available: Here
Boundaries and water resources Available: Here
Center of Information and Documentation Bolivia Here