Assessment of the water footprint of the city of Bogotá as a tool for water management in urban areas

Abstract

The study evaluated the water footprint of the city of Bogotá using the methodology developed by Arjen Hoekstra in order to identify the direct and indirect volumes of water that sustain life and development in the capital. The city of Bogotá contributes around 25% to the national GDP, using water for both the sustainability of its populations and its productive sectors. The transfer of water to the Bogotá city supply network, the inefficiency of wastewater treatment systems, changing regulations on water, institutional changes in water management, among others, make our relationship with water resources in the Colombian capital more complex.

The application of the water footprint methodology made it possible to evaluate the volumes of water used in the city as a result of all the dynamics mentioned above. As a general conclusion of the study, it was found that the city has made positive progress in terms of per capita consumption as a result of changes in the legislative, organizational, and cultural framework, while the effects of discharges into rivers continue to be a problem associated mainly with weaknesses in control systems and a lack of information on the
, organizational, and cultural framework, while the effects of discharges into rivers continue to be a problem that is basically associated with weaknesses in control systems, lack of information on the implementation of cleaner production mechanisms, the difficulty in complying with regulations, the credibility of the legislative regulatory framework on the issue of discharges, among others. Consequently, the issue of monitoring and controlling discharges becomes a priority from the perspective of sustainable water management.