Potential contributions of pre-Inca infiltration infrastructure to Andean water security
File(s)
Accepted version
OA Location
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Water resources worldwide are under severe stress from increasing climate variability and human pressures. In the tropical Andes, pre-Inca cultures developed nature-based water harvesting technologies to manage drought risks under natural climatic extremes. While these technologies have gained renewed attention as a potential strategy to increase water security, limited scientific evidence exists about their potential hydrological contributions at catchment scale. Here, we evaluate a 1,400-year-old indigenous infiltration enhancement system that diverts water from headwater streams onto mountain slopes during the wet season to enhance the yield and longevity of downslope natural springs. Infiltrated water is retained for an average of 45 d before resurfacing, confirming the system’s ability to contribute to dry-season flows. We estimate that upscaling the system to the source-water areas of the city of Lima can potentially delay 99 × 106 m3 yr−1 of streamflow and increase dry-season flows by 7.5% on average, which may provide a critical complement to conventional engineering solutions for water security.
Date Issued
2019-06-24
Date Acceptance
2019-05-07
Citation
Nature Sustainability, 2019, 2 (7), pp.584-593
ISSN
2398-9629
Publisher
Springer Nature
Start Page
584
End Page
593
Journal / Book Title
Nature Sustainability
Volume
2
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2019 Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0307-1.
Sponsor
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Imperial College London
Natural Environment Research Council [2006-2012]
Identifier
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/personalise/boris.ochoa13
Grant Number
NE/I004017/1
NE/K010239/1
President's PhD Scholarship
NE/L002515/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Science & Technology - Other Topics
CLIMATE-CHANGE
LAND-USE
IMPACTS
SERVICES
RECHARGE
DROUGHT
FLOWS
Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2019-06-24