The human cycle of water: water management and anthropogenic contaminant pathways in Po ´tam, Sonora, Mexico’s water cycle Stacey A. Pilling Received: 5 December 2010 / Accepted: 23 March 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 Abstract Women are the primary decision makers regarding household water sources in many developing nations, but are often overlooked by researchers and organizations as primary water managers. This study took place in Po ´tam, Sonora, Mexico, during the summer of 2007, with a follow-up visit in February 2008. The study aimed at understand the human cycle of water by identifying potential exposure pathways for water contami- nation, as well as to understand the link between cultural beliefs, perceptions, and asso- ciated health issues. In total, sixty women were interviewed, as well as community elders and the Water Committee president. Discussions of household water use decisions, per- ceptions of disease causation, and treatment proved crucial in the discovery of potential pathways by which anthropogenic contaminants come into contact with the water cycle in Po ´tam. Most of the households (87%) believe their water sources are contaminated with biological and or chemical contaminants. Furthermore, of the sixty informants interviewed, seventy percent reported diarrhea as a common symptom. The majority of informants (76%) made a link between consumption of contaminated water and high rates of diarrhea. The study determined that the community is in need of outreach programs geared toward women as household water managers, independent lab analysis of water quality samples, and an epidemiological study to determine the causes for the most commonly reported illness and symptoms. Keywords Environmental health Á Chemical and biological contaminants Á Drinking water Á Northwestern Mexico Á Water managers Á Water quality Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue. S. A. Pilling (&) Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, Houghton, MI, USA e-mail: sapillin@mtu.edu S. A. Pilling 5418 Stuart Ave Newark, New York, NY, USA 123 Environ Dev Sustain DOI 10.1007/s10668-011-9302-z