| Summary: | The Mendoza urban area (1 million inhabitants), at the center of the largest oasis in the world, is located on South America’s dry diagonal. In this arid space, water resources are scarce. There is only one source of surface water, the rio Mendoza, which accounts for two thirds of the water supply in the city. But in the Andes, the main water source for the oasis, climate change already has a tangible impact and the quantity of available water is declining. Hence a competition for water: as far as drinking water is concerned, downstream neighbourhoods are the weakest ones. Such areas are affected by low water pressure and they have to rely on tanker trucks and/or water wells. Poor neighbourhoods, like the Las Heras municipality, are the most impacted. Initially focused on the signs of potential socio-economic discriminations in water distribution, this paper shows instead that the real problem is of a technical nature. It also confirms management deficiencies on the part of local authorities.
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