Community management of irrigation water in two rural communities in the Central Valley of Oaxaca

Water management refers to the organization and administration of water from the local level, in terms of its access, distribution, and use. The access to water in sufficient quantity is imperative in its management, however, in very few regions of Mexico its quality is well known. This occurs in the Central Valley of Oaxaca, particularly in the basin of the Atoyac River. The aim is to analyze the community management of irrigation water in the communities of Ciénega de Zimatlán and Santa Catarina Quiané. 49 interviews were carried out, which main axis was to know the form organization and administration of water and to identify the considerations in relation to its quality. At the same time, 11 water samples were collected, analyzed and physicochemical quality indices were determined. The communities have a water committee for each well or irrigation unit with associated farmers, the organization of irrigation is by assembly. 70 % of farmers consider that the water is of good quality, laboratory results support this, since only 50 % of the wells have salinity problems that affect the crops in the dry season.