Water Management
Water Management Techniques
Santiago and Lucio, a trainee from the village, demonstrate their water management techniques. They take a water sample for a pH measurement and look at the comparison chart as Santiago explains that the acidity level, 4.5, is still too high for human or animal consumption, which is 6 to 8. The series of testing and treatment stations located along the course of the water lowers the acidity. They conduct a series of tests and one of them is to measure conductivity in the water which indicates the electrical charge carried by the water due to metal particles. The level is extremely high and Santiago records the measurements. He explains that the pH conductivity and other levels at Winoyo, the lake below Garrosa, indicate that the water is safe for animal and human consumption.
Each locality must derive their own solutions, learning from their neighbors' experiences but generating solutions to fit their needs. Vicosinos participate in the diffusion of their experiences through workshops and discussions. TMI and Urpichallay published a manual so that other localities could replicate the Vicosinos' process. Vicosinos spent one year discussing their concept and the importance of water and arrived at this consensus: When we began this project, we knew that our water was sick and decided that we must cure it. We must protect our water for future generations. It is our life.
Through communal labor, each household provides one person to work on the water system. Vicosinos have built the retaining walls, and dug the pool to hold the sediment that contains arsenic and lead as well as other pollutants. One mitigation technique they have applied is to place bags of lime along the filtration canals to neutralize the acidic, mineral-filled water. For longer term improvement of water quality, Vicosinos have increased the plantings of native grasses, such as ichu, that are resistant to the minerals.
