An Update: Water Security in Mexico,
Guanajuato, and Here in San Miguel

Instructor: Dylan Terrell

and staff of Caminos de Agua

March 8 | 1–3 p.m.

This course will update participants on the water crisis in Guanajuato, effective responses to it, and actions we can take in our own homes. It will be taught by Dylan Terrell, founder of Caminos de Agua, and members of the staff of this highly respected nonprofit organization. Lifelong Learning offers the course free of charge as a public service.

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The Alto Río Laja Watershed stretches across seven municipalities in northern Guanajuato. Ninety-nine percent of the water consumed in the region comes from a large underground reservoir known as the Alto Río Laja Aquifer, which serves several thousand communities, including San Miguel de Allende, and supplies water to more than 700,000 residents. The aquifer is declining at an alarming rate—more than one meter per year on average and as much as three meters per year. The remaining groundwater is contaminated with arsenic and fluoride, in some places at levels up to 23 times those recommended by the World Health Organization or permitted under Mexican standards. These contaminants are extremely difficult to remove and are associated with serious health effects, including developmental disabilities in children, skin disease, dental fluorosis, crippling skeletal fluorosis, chronic kidney disease, and several types of cancer.

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Dylan Terrell is the founder and executive director of Caminos de Agua. An Ashoka Fellow, he oversees the organization's programming and focuses on institutional collaboration, public-policy initiatives, and coalition building. He has helped develop and coordinate many of Caminos' core programs, including water-quality monitoring, technology development, rainwater harvesting, education, and other community projects. Members of the Caminos staff will assist in teaching the class.