In Chiapas highlands to southeast of Mexico, the scarcity of water is worrying, according
to technical reports of the IPCC the runoff will less between 150 to 250 mm
per year in the southeast of Mexico, this situation will increase the problems of water
availability in Chiapas highlands in the future. For actually more of 18,160 small rural
indigenous communities (SRIC) in Chiapas there is not drinking water. In order
to contribute a given solution to scarcity of drinking water in the SRIC, The Autonomous
University of Chiapas (UNACH in its Spanish acronym) and Mexican Institute
of Water Technology (IMTA in its Spanish acronym) designed and constructed
in 1999 the Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) in Yalentay municipality of Zinacantan
in Chiapas, Mexico. The scientific and technical contributions of RWH are:
The design guarantee the water quality for a prolonged time of storage avoiding the
photosynthesis inside the system; Not emitted greenhouse gasses because it doesn’t
need any kind of fossil fuels; Not produces anything kind of damage to the environment;
It has to be inexpensive, using in its construction manpower and materials
from de region; Store the maximum quantity of water in the minimum space. The
RWH has increased the standard of living of the habitants from Yalentay and improving
their health conditions