Water management for domestic use: Family strategies in the rural and urban environments of Tecali de Herrera, Puebla, Mexico

Abstract

The aim of the study was to identify water management strategies for domestic use, used by rural and urban families in a semi-arid region of the state of Puebla, Mexico. In order to obtain household information, a survey was applied to 83 families, and through direct measurement, the volume of water in the supply network was quantified. The results show that in both contexts the appropriators used particular and mixed strategies to obtain the water. The particular actions were: the public network, hauling on foot, on a donkey and in a van, and buying from a tanker (water pipe) and buying water jugs. The mixed strategies were different in each context. The rural population used eight, the majority (30.7 percent) resorted to the combination: public network, carry on foot and purchase of water jugs; while the urban population employed eleven, the majority (34.1 percent) adopted the combination: public network, purchase water from a tanker and buying water jugs. It is concluded that in the urban area they combine more mixed strategies in relation to the rural one.