Assessment of the Water Footprint in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods from Developing Countries: Case Study Fatima (Gamarra, Colombia)

The increasing pressure on water resources due to population growth and high water consumption, especially in urban areas from tropical developing countries, has led to a rise in water stress. The sustainability analysis of the Total Water Footprint (WFtotal) and the Environmental Sustainability Index (SIblue) are holistic water management tools that allow for establishing pressures over water resources. This study assessed the WFtotal and their components (Blue, Green, and Gray) in the households of a low-income tropical neighborhood in Colombia with sanitation deficiencies. The activities associated with intra-household water use and higher environmental impact were identified, considering socioeconomic conditions and the water quality in the receiving water body, a wetland, through the application of surveys in a sample of households. The results showed that 86.7% of the WF was the WFgreen, followed by the WFgray (13.2%), and finally, the WFblue (0.2%). The high value of the WFgreen was related to food consumption patterns, which varied according to socioeconomic level. Likewise, the SIblue shows that the Baquero wetland presented scarcity scenarios regarding water quality and sedimentation, threatening the environmental service provision from this strategic ecosystem. Finally, tools such as the WFtotal and SIblue help identify strategies that could be implemented to reduce the pressure on the water resources and the water quality degradation in ecosystems relevant to global sustainability as wetlands.

Automated summary

The increasing pressure on water resources due to population growth and high water consumption has led to water stress, especially in urban areas from tropical developing countries. The Total Water Footprint (WFtotal) and the Environmental Sustainability Index (SIblue) are holistic water management tools that help identify pressures over water resources. This study assessed the WFtotal and its components in low-income households in Colombia, identifying the activities with high environmental impact and the water quality in the receiving wetland. The results showed a high WFgreen and the scarcity scenarios regarding water quality and sedimentation in the Baquero wetland according to the SIblue.