'The 13 quetzals I pay for this quantity, the equivalent of one British pound, would feed an entire family for a day. They are clearly not handing this over the counter.'

Holly Bruford, a former employee of Christian Aid, moved to Guatemala last year to live and work. This month, she reports in a personal capacity on what you have to do to get water

Life has changed dramatically in the last few weeks and I now find myself living the Guatemalan Campesino life cooking on an open fire, watching the corn grow day by day, sheltering from the afternoon downpours, and struggling under the weight of a barrel of purified water I buy weekly from a store in the village.

This last has somewhat spoilt my integration efforts as I fail to encounter any other fellow Campesino returning home through the fields with five gallonsof water on their back.

The 13 quetzals I pay for this quantity, the equivalent of one British pound, would feed an entire family for a day. They are clearly not handing this over the counter.

One would assume, therefore, these people travel to wells, rivers or streams to obtain their supply, sources which, at this time of year, are plentiful.

Rain

Indeed when the rain came, as I was promised it would on the 1 st day of May, it brought with it a true understanding of what a rainy season signifies.

The amount of rain that falls each afternoon is staggering and although there are claims that the levels are above average this year, I am assured that even the average amount serves its purpose to nourish the corn ready for November’s harvest.

But is the purpose of this rain not also to nourish the people themselves? From what I have seen of the state of the rivers and streams around my village, overflowing with rubbish and raw sewage, these water sources cannot be used for such means.

Indeed, when I moved into my new abode and asked what to do with my rubbish I received an inquisitive look and was told there was a place for it at the bottom of my garden. This place is in fact the river.

The chronic absence of infrastructure is blamed for this problem. Nearly 95% of the country does not treat its sewage. In fact, barely 15 treatment plants exist in the entire country. Only 4% of town councils chlorinate piped water supplies.

Mortality

This in turn leads to repercussions in elevated rates of mortality from cholera and acute diarrhoea. Guatemala has the highest figure of diarrhoea in children under five in Central America.

Guatemalan’s live in constant risk of waterborne disease due to the poor quality of water they consume. Their sources are consistently contaminated and the nation finds itself in a primitive state due to the lack of management of the water destined to human consumption. La Prensa 29 May 2005

There is no law in Guatemala that regulates the use and access to water although a proposal for a Law of Water is currently being discussed in Congress.

Approving such a regulation would oblige businesses to monitor, control and treat their industrial waste before expelling it to rivers and lakes. Frustratingly, President Berger, under pressure from the industrial and business sectors has suspended its enforcement on a number of occasions.

The responsibility, however, is not solely that of the industrial sector. It is the people themselves who need to recognize the consequences of polluting their very own rivers.

If a governing body was established to regulate control over these vital water sources, along with a nationwide educational campaign reaching even the most remote highland communities, the people may start to understand the cost of their actions.

For the time being, I will stick with buying bottled water. And having since discovered that the water truck passes once a week to ‘deliver’ my weekly refill I may well be on the way to achieving total immersion after all.

• Email from Central America index
• Email from America index