Describe your everyday interactions with water. Consider water collection, water uses, water treatment, water storage

I am the technical assistant of the Asada Los Santos of Upala, Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, there are Administrative Associations of the Community Aqueduct and Sewage Systems (ASADA by its acronym in Spanish). The ASADAs oversee managing, maintaining, and developing the aqueduct and sewage systems in the communities where neither the local government (municipalities) nor the central government provides drinking water and sanitation services. The ASADA Los Santos of Upala captures approximately 50 l/s from a spring called ''Los Chorros'' so there must be given a daily chlorine treatment, tank review, and awareness for breakdowns. This ASADA provides service to 2770 subscribers from 34 communities and has a 283 km pipe network that covers some areas of Upala, Los Chiles, and Guatuso, located in north Costa Rica.

Describe your situation / problem below, considering the above provided guiding questions (Note: the text field expand once you write, submit a full textual description here)

During the dry season (from December until May) availability of water is a problem, especially for agriculture and livestock. Currently, the ASADA Los Santos of Upala is trying to mitigate the problems that may come in the future due to the loss of forest coverage and could increase the damage that will cause climate change. An evident problem is the irrigation or water availability for livestock during the dry season. Therefore, some people use other water sources to carry out these activities, such as drilling wells. On the other hand, near to the ASADA is the Caño Negro wetland. This place is a conservation area of great natural and societal value, which has been affected by deforestation and sedimentation due to recent land changes toward agriculture (pineapple plantations, livestock). Deforestation causes many problems, for example, fauna from this area has been affected, specifically the green macaws, so, due to the interest in mitigating deforestation, a few years ago we decided to create the Green Macaw Project. With this project, reforestation near the bodies of water within the jurisdiction of the ASADA is expected. The idea was born out of the Women’s Rally of Geospatial Technologies held in Santa Cruz of Guanacaste. The main idea is to geo-reference and record changes in forest coverage in the next few years.

The aim: What does a desired situation addressing the above-described situation/problem look like?

To see the bodies of water covered by forest coverage again. Respecting the country’s regulations regarding near rivers deforestation restrictions, will ensure future generations access to water and ecosystems will be restored.

What do you think are potential solutions?

Reforestation near streamflow and springs and record it through geospatial applications that are available to us.

What resources would you have available to help address the above-described problem? (e.g. time, budget, technical means available locally...)

We have the time, the availability to seek financial resources, environmental education, donations of trees by the government and private companies, networks with educational centers and mobile devices with geospatial applications to collect useful information for the ASADA.