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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Alfie Pannell in La Calera, Colombia

‘This is what I was born for’: the drought-ridden Colombian town that took on Coca-Cola Femsa – and won

A Coca-Cola lorry on a rural road
Coca-Cola Femsa was allowed to continue pumping water for its bottling plant during a severe drought while residents of La Calera faced shortages and rationing. Photograph: Alfie Pannell/The Guardian

When a severe drought struck La Calera near Bogotá, many of its residents lost their water for drinking, cooking and farming and faced up to 15 days of strict water rationing each month. Yet the area is home to Chingaza reservoir, which supplies about 70% of the drinking water for Colombia’s capital.

As the drought stretched from April 2024 to April last year, people began to look more closely at how their water was being managed.

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