Ancient intervention could boost dwindling water reserves in coastal Peru

Methods from 1,400 years ago could boost water availability during Lima's dry season, according to new Imperial College London research. Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains , the people of Peru 's coastal region rely on surface water from the Andes for drinking water, industry, and animal and crop farming. The region, which includes Peru's capital city Lima , is often overwhelmed with rain in the wet season - but by the time the dry season comes, water is scarce. These factors, together with Lima's rapidly growing population, mean the city struggles to supply water to its 12 million residents during the dry months of May to October. Now, researchers and their colleagues at the Regional Initiative for Hydrological Monitoring of Andean Ecosystems in South America have outlined how reviving ancient water systems - which pre-date the Incan Empire - could save wet season water for the dry season, where it is desperately needed. To do so, they studied a water system in Huamantanga, Peru - one of the last of its kind. Trickle effect.