#RainForAll
Water sustainability for Mexico
www.islaurbana.org/english
PRESS KIT
CONTENT WATER CRISIS BENEFITS OF RAINWATER HARVESTING ISLA URBANA PROJECT AND TEAM ISLA URBANA´S RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM OUR PROGRESS
RECOGNITION
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“The amount of rainwater that falls would be enough to guarantee a supply for the entire population.” Antonio Gutiérrez Marco
Director of Conagua, Mexico’s Water Authority, 2010.
THE WATER CRISIS If we succeed in providing a sustainable solution to Mexico’s water problem, we can accomplish anything. According to the United Nations the world faces a water deficit of 40% by 2030. More than 10 million Mexicans do not have access to water services. The water crisis in Mexico represents one of the major risks in the prosperity and future stability of Mexican citizens. As the situation worsens throughout Mexico, the social injustice in the distribution of this vital source becomes more evident. It’s time to consider true alternatives in creating a new water culture as we continue to be more self-sustaining. If we can provide a sustainable solution to the water problem in Mexico, we can do anything.
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In water scarce neighborhoods, families often have to spend time and up to 20% of their income to buy water while municipalities rack up costs subsidizing water trucks in communities where there is no connection to the water grid.
Women are often in charge of collecting water; putting them in danger when traveling long distances while also keeping them from progressing economically and educationally. Additionally, they struggle with mental stress and related health issues from carrying heavy water containers daily.
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THE WATER CRISIS
Where cities have exponential growth, pressure over traditional water sources grows. Mexico City for example, is ranked third on the list of major world cities facing extreme water stress. While nestled in a valley of more than 2,200 meters above sea level, it presents an unusual challenge as well as an amazing opportunity as to how adaptation and ingenuity can provide a permanent solution to a chronic problem. Mexico City is plagued by a profoundly unsustainable system that is depleting its local water reserves while pumping water from further and further distances each time. The Lerma-Cutzamala system which provides 30% of Mexico City’s water, consumes more energy in bringing water from surrounding states than what’s needed to illuminate the entire City of Puebla (Population: 5.8 million). Additionally, the overexploitation of aquifers, where the city supplies 70% of its water, has caused the city to sink 9 meters in the last century.
Mexico City before
The capital suffers from water shortages in 36% of its homes and each year more houses are subject to cuts in the water supply. However, the crisis in the Valley of Mexico is not due to a genuine lack of water. Every year, torrential rains fall on the city, turning streets into rivers, saturating drains, and flooding entire colonies, a phenomenon that reminds us that the basin was once covered by great lakes.
In Mexico City there is a natural abundance of water but it is poorly managed. The main problem is that the city’s relationship with the resource and its natural cycle has been lost. We send rain down our drains while simultaneously seeking to bring water from further and further away.
Mexico City after
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BENEFITS OF RAINWATER HARVESTING Today
Tomorrow
Future
Families gradually increase their rainwater storage and water management capacity until succeeding in reaching complete independence from other unsustainable and expensive water sources. Communities can count on high quality water for a minimum of 6 months during the year and up to 12 months in rural communities. The rainwater harvesting systems work with existing infrasturucture and require little maintenance.
1. Renewable source of clean water can capture about 650 liters
(CIDAC).
2. Capable of supplying highlands and marginalized communities where water supply is actually precarious, costly and of a low quality.
3. Promotes a culture of care and harmony with water.
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BENEFITS OF RAINWATER HARVESTING 4. During the rainy season, it allows the recovery of the city’s aquifers.
5. Once installed, the systems provide water year after year at very low cost. 6. Rainwater does not need to be transported to the city and to homes artificially, thereby saving emissions and energy. 7. Prevents drains from saturating during downpours, so it reduces floods.
There is no future without water
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ISLA URBANA
population has sustainable access to
We believe in a resilient, prosperous and sustainable Mexico, with safe water for all. Thanks for being part of that change. #RainForAll
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WHO WE ARE Clara Gaytan In 2009, Isla Urbana installed their first rainwater harvesting system in the house of Mrs Clara Gaytan. Filled with enthusiasm by the impact of this system, our small team went to live in the colonia Cultura Maya in the Ajusco and the project was founded formally. Our co-founder and teacher Carlos Moscoso, died in December.
OUR FIRST SYSTEM, 2009 The first rainwater harvesting system installed by Isla Urbana continues to operate, providing the family clean water for more than 8 months of the year.
Founding team
OUR GENERAL DIRECTOR Enrique Lomnitz is the General Director and one of the founders of Isla Urbana. He is a design student who returned to his native Mexico City after college in the U.S. to take on its water crisis. Enrique has a unique voice regarding efforts in helping to solve the water crisis in Mexico. He is an insightful, articulate and committed visionary who has a genuine love of his community that is impossible to miss when speaking to him. If you don’t see him at the Isla Urbana offices, in interviews or in meetings, during the year he is also likely to be spending time in the sierras of Jalisco with the indigenous Huichol community installing systems and working collaboratively with other causes. Isla Urbana has grown. We are an interdisciplinary team of more than 30 people composed by engineers, designers and sociologists working to offer the most relevant technologies.
Enrique was named one of 35 Innovators under 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2013, is an Ashoka Fellow, and a sought after speaker.
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ISLA URBANA´S RESIDENTIAL SYSTEM 1 Roof 2
9 Water tank Pipes
3 Leaf
Filter
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Filter Train
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5 Turbulence
6 Disinfection
7 Floating Intake 7
ISLA URBANA´S RESIDENTIAL SYSTEM The Isla Urbana catchment system is designed to adapt to Mexican homes easily and provide high quality water to houses at a low cost . It is easy to install and removes contamination from the city air or roof.
Rain capture is not difficult, but you have to do it well. A well-designed system makes the difference between obtaining high or low quality water.
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The system takes advantage of the existing roof of the house, which must be kept clean and clear to avoid contaminating the falling rain. From the roof, water flows through gutters and pipes into the system. After the pipe, the water flows through a first filter, the leaf filter, which prevents the passage of leaves and garbage of a larger size. Next, the water passes through a first flush diverting device or "Tlaloque". The Isla Urbana Tlaloque is modular to any size roof up to 140m2. It prevents the first more polluted volume of rain to enter the cistern. The Tlaloque allows the first minutes of the downpour to clean the roof aswell; and thus reduces the pollution in city rain by 70%.
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The cistern stores the water, you can use an existing cistern, or a new one.
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In the cistern or if you prefer in the water tank chlorine should be added to disinfect the water. Isla Urbana offers a chlorine dispenser which doses the necessary amount of chlorine, removing any bacteria in the water.
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A pump with floating intake is used to extract the water from the tank. The floating valve prevents the pump from drawing water from the bottom of the cistern where sediment may accumulate.
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Leaving the pump, the water passes through the filtration train. The first filter removes sediments larger than 50 microns. The second with activated charcoal, removes finer contaminants, as well as odors and flavors. Finally, clean water is stored in the water tank in the roof for use in the residence.
From the Tlaloque, water enters the cistern through the Turbulence Reducer, it allows the water to enter in a calm way in order to not stir the sediment that may accumulate in the bottom.
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OUR PROGRESS As of April 2018
7,400
systems completed
51,800 people served
333
million of liters of water harvested each year
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RECOGNITION The work of the Isla Urbana project has been widely recognized for its contributions to the promotion of rain catchment in Mexico, its dedication to best practices and its social and environmental impact. We thank the following institutions and groups for their support.
Entrepreneurs that Drive Mexico) Mundo Ejecutivo Magazine, 2016, Agente de Cambio (Change Agent Prize)�, Ashoka, Mexico City, Mexico, 2015, winner of grants from the Institute of Social Development (2010, 2011, 2012), HSBC Foundation (2012-2013), Iniciativa Mexico (2012), Institute of Science and Technology (2012), Porticus (2013), Genera, an NGO project incubator (2011), Secretary of the Environment (2011), Institute of Social Development (2011), Carlos Slim Foundation (2012) and Institute of the Youth (2010, 2013).
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CONTACT
Epsilon 130, Romero de Terreros, Coyoacan, 04310, Mexico City, Mexico www.islaurbana.org/english
requests@islaurbana.org
+52 (55) 5446-4831
#RainForAll @IslaUrbana
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@islaurbana
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