With its 9 million inhabitants, the city of Lima, Peru, is exposed to water shortages during its seven-month long dry season. Rather than building a desalination plant, the city’s water utility company, Sedapal, is to invest in conservation projects to keep the rivers flowing more reliably throughout the year, such as wetlands restoration. It will also revive a system of ancient stone canals that were built by the Wari culture between AD 500 and 1000. The canals were designed to regulate the watershed, capturing abundant water during the rainy season so that it would infiltrate rocks and feed rivers downstream as needed. Their degradation over the centuries has resulted in water running straight from the mountains into the ocean without being captured. It is estimated that the whole initiative will reduce water deficit by 60% for a $23 million price tag.
Lima is relying on an ancient civilization’s technology to alleviate drought
More of Today's Solutions
Naples lets blind visitors feel the Veiled Christ
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM On a Tuesday morning in Naples, a guide named Chiara Locovardi ran her gloved fingers across a marble ...
Read MoreUrban coyotes are denning next door: here’s what to know
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Somewhere near you, a coyote may be nursing a litter of pups right now. She chose her den ...
Read MoreCompany that raised minimum salaries to $70,000 is still thriving
Almost seven years ago, The Optimist Daily did a piece on Dan Price, CEO of the credit card processing company Gravity Payments. At the ...
Read MoreUsing the Paralympics to encourage conversations about limb differences with ...
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Children are naturally curious about the world around them, especially the people that cross their paths. When kids ...
Read More
