groundwater

When the rainfall and fog of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense mountain range are condensed and fall to the hillslopes, the water not only settles into wetlands and streams across the landscape but is drawn deep underground to saturate the earth as groundwater (Baruffol, 2020). The vegetation of the Páramo helps to regulate the levels and flow depending on season, altitude and slope (Cleef, 2008).

In the higher peaks of the Páramo, frailejones draw atmospheric water into the ground using trichome-covered leaves and deep (1-2m) taproots (Rockstroh, 2024). At the lower plains, sphagnum moss also aids water retention by preventing evapotranspiration from the soil in drier periods. This keeps them permanently waterlogged, which plays a key role in limiting oxygen levels in the soil and slowing decomposition of plant matter, making the Paramo a vital carbon sink (IUCN, 2020). Throughout all levels of the Páramo, tussock grass also helps to regulate rainfall drainage to the groundwater, with its dense fibrous root mat, distributing moisture evenly across soil horizons (Ochoa-Sánchez et al., 2018). A delicate balance is maintained across the water table between seasons, thanks to these key regulating species, whereby wetlands, rivers and streams replenish ground water during rainy seasons (April-May and September-November) and groundwater replenishes surface water in the drier months (Correa et al., 2020)

At lower altitudes, the proximity of heavy industry and densely populated urban areas of Bogotá significantly impact the quality and health of the groundwater. Due to limited regulations and illegal waste dumping, leachate and contaminants from the mining industry, tanning site, agricultural industry, recycling centre and landfill site, including lead, cadmium, chromium and ammonium compounds, migrate through soils into groundwater (Environment & Society, 2026; Wilson, 2023). Furthermore, leakage from failing sewers, unlined drainage channels and natural infiltration causes waste water to enter shallow aquifers which disproportionately affects communities whose sanitation infrastructure is compromised[CITE].

References

Baruffol, M. (2020) Andean ‘water sponges’: The role of plants in water supply. Kew. 22 March. Available at: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/paramos-andean-water-sponges (Accessed: 20 November 2025).

Borawska-Melnyk, A. (2025). Páramo, or water factories: a botanical phenomenon. [online] Wodne Sprawy. Available at: https://wodnesprawy.pl/en/paramo-or-water-factories-in-the-andes/ (Accessed 8 January 2026).

Cleef, A.M., 2008. Humid cloud superparamo probably acts as a plant diversity centre and as a cool refuge: the case of Nevado de Sumapaz, Colombia. La Cordillera Oriental Colombiana, transecto Sumapaz. Studies on Tropical Andean Ecosystems, 7, pp.565-593.

Correa, A., Ochoa-Tocachi, B. F., Birkel, C., Ochoa-Sanchez, A., Zogheib, C., Tovar, C., Buytaert ,W. (2020) 'A concerted research effort to advance the hydrological understanding of tropical páramos', Hydrological Processes, 34(24), pp. 4609-4626. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13904 (Accessed 12 January 2026).

Environment & Society Portal (2026) ‘Waste and water pollution – Bogotá’. Available at: https://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/water-bogota/waste-and-water-pollution (Accessed: 12 January 2026).

IUCN (2020). Sphagnum moss | IUCN UK Peatland Programme. [online] Iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org. Available at: https://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/wildlife-explorer/mosses-and-liverworts/sphagnum-moss. (Accessed 12 January 2026).

Rockstroh, P. (2024) Frailejones: The Colombian Espeletias. Exotica Esoterica. Available at: https://www.exoticaesoterica.com/magazine/frailejones-colombian-espeletias (Accessed: 20 November 2025).

Ochoa-Sánchez, A., Crespo, P. and Célleri, R. (2018). Quantification of rainfall interception in the high Andean tussock grasslands. Ecohydrology, 11(3), p.e1946. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1946 (Accessed: 12 January 2026).

Wilson, R. (2023) ‘Colombia: open pit mine threatens municipalities near Bogotá’, Latin America Bureau. Available at: https://lab.org.uk/colombia-open-pit-mine-threatens-municipalities-near-bogota/ (Accessed: 12 January 2026).