This study takes a step in addressing the relationships between water and poverty by exploring the social and geographic dimensions of acute water problems in the Culebra watershed in southern Costilla County, Colorado. The interviewees were also asked to map out their perceptions of the distribution of water problems in the study area. Responses and maps were compiled and analyzed to yield a wealth of information about specific water and poverty relationships in the study area. Domestic water quantity and quality problems are intimately related to each other, and particularly affect residents living in remote subdivided areas of the county where water is scarce. Agricultural water problems affect low-income farming families downstream of disturbances in the Culebra headwaters region.
Industrial contamination is a threat faced by all residents in the study area.
Major tools with which to address these issues are county planning and land-use regulations. Additionally, further studies, at a similar scale and at larger scales, can help to explicate water and poverty relationships and begin to develop methods for addressing these issues.