The Water Resources Act (Law 29338), of 2009, in the third paragraph of Article 75 (Water Protection) reads as follows: "The State recognizes as environmentally vulnerable areas, the headwaters where water originates. The National Authority, with the opinion of the Ministry of Environment, can declare intangible zones that do not confer any right to use, disposal or dumping of water".

This, apparently simple, statement has had and has far-reaching implications for mining, due to the approaches and impacts that have resulted, by making something a "truth" that is not. For this reason, and for all men of good will, in this study we present an approach to the hydrological behavior of the headwaters in Peruvian Andes.