Water in A Mexican Village

Yelapa view       Photo by Mara Alper

            

             I awake in the jungle,. Stunning yellow birds sing in trees outside my thatched palapa. I am home. This is my green paradise, warm and  fecund. The morning clouds here on the Pacific coast of Mexico are not like those at home. Within their transparency, swirls in a whirlpool, diaphanous and light. They dissolve into blue within moments.

            The water stories here are different. An old system of black hoses come down the mountains in a gravity feed. Water pumps have appeared in people’s homes, hose into the ground, a pump on a makeshift wooden stand, hose up to the house. It works most of the time.

Water lines in Yelapa    Photo by Mara Alper

Water filter    Photo by Mara Alper

Water pump        Photo by Mara Alper

           

             Large blue pipes were added a few years ago when water was scarcer for several years, dry brown winters. This year it is green again, with 90 inches of rain this summer. Water flows freely from the faucets, no heed to conservation, minimal water storage for a non-rainy day.

            The Río Tuito flows through town, deceptively clear like most water, yet laden with bacteria that kill and parasites that disrupt.  This is a deep problem with water; it’s apparent clarity masks our impact on it.

Matt from Pisota        Photo by Mara Alper

            Matt from Pisota tells me about the family he married into, fisherman running out of fish. They go out in their small boats each morning and return with fewer fish each day. They tell about how the big fleets over fish and waste much. When they catch shrimp, hundreds of baby fish are caught in the nets and killed, but not eaten.

            I think of all the shrimp from Mexico I’ve bought over the years, never knowing. Now that I know, what can I do? A question to ask more often.

For now, try foodandwaterwatch.org