It’s one of our most basic vital needs. While humans can survive weeks without food, they can only live days without it. And in Bolivia, its scarcity is presenting a serious problem.

The country’s water is disappearing and what’s left of it, is getting dirtier. The causes include urban sprawl, lack of rainfall and a government that’s been slow to respond to depleting stores.

But nowhere is the water crisis being felt more than at Bolivia’s two largest lakes, world-renowned Lake Titicaca and Lake Poopo.

Correspondent Gerry Hadden reports from the highland region in trouble.

Follow Gerry Hadden on Twitter @gerryhadden

Bolivia's lakes are drying up and threatening entire populations

Bolivia's water is disappearing and what’s left of it, is getting dirtier. Nowhere is the water crisis being felt more than at Bolivia's two largest lakes, world-renowned Lake Titicaca and Poopo.