Water security requires a sufficient quantity and quality of water be delivered at the appropriate time. Imported water can come from three possible sources: surface water, groundwater, or desalinated sea water. Of these, surface water is the most readily available and cost-effective and therefore the preferable source in less developed nations. Headwater wetlands can play a particularly important role in water storage and generation of streamflow, because they are topographically and geologically predisposed to store water and therefore play important roles in how streamflow is both generated and distributed in time. These issues are particularly salient for urban and agricultural socioecosystems that flank the Colombian Andes. However, these headwater wetlands (páramos) are increasingly at risk due to climate change and development pressure, particularly grazing, logging, and mining. In an effort to assist with water resource planning, we quantified the contribution of páramos to flow generation in the Tuluá River. Like many rivers with headwaters in the Andes, the Tuluá River serves as the primary water source for a community situated in a fertile valley below.