Cassandra Garrison
Wed, January 31, 2024
Millions go without water in Mexico City as drought hits capital
By Cassandra Garrison
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Frustrated Mexico City residents have been protesting weeks of water shortages, with officials warning of "unprecedented" low levels in a main system that supplies millions of people.
The bustling metro area of 21 million people - one of Latin America's largest cities - is struggling after years of low rainfall blamed on climate change, as well as chaotic urban growth and outdated infrastructure.
In the community of Acambay, about 80 miles (130 km) outside the Mexican capital, protesters forced open the gates of an office of Mexico's National Water Commission (Conagua), breaking windows and ripping shingles off the roof, local media reported.
In the Azcapotzalco neighborhood of Mexico City, residents lined up to fill buckets and trashcans with water piped from a truck.
Azcapotzalco resident Maribel Gutierrez said she had been without water at her home for more than a month. Neighbors have started fighting over the limited supplies, residents said.
"I think they should be empathetic," Gutierrez said of government officials. "We understand there was a serious water problem, but they must understand that water is vital for everyone."
The Mexican capital, situated in a high-altitude valley and built on a former lake-bed, has struggled to supply its residents for years. It relies mostly on water pumped from its underground aquifer and reservoirs outside the city to meet demand.
Officials from Mexico City's water utility SACMEX have said the Cutzamala System, a network of pumping plants, dams and other infrastructure that is the source of water for about 6 million people, is the most stressed it has ever been. They have asked residents to change habits in order to conserve as much water as possible.
"Due to ... the number of residents, plus the population that comes to work in our city, it is in an unprecedented condition. It is something that we had not experienced during this administration, nor in previous administrations," said Rafael Carmona, director of SACMEX.
The Cutzamala System was at 39.7% capacity on Jan. 29, down from about 41% in December and 54% this time last year, government data show.
Mexico City gets at least half its annual rainfall from the North American Monsoon between May and August. With recent seasons drier than usual, the city's reservoirs are now depleted with no chance at rebounding until the summer months, said Andreas Prein, an atmospheric scientist for the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
"In Mexico, you have to wait until May or June until you can really get a significant boost of precipitation to have a chance to recover water in the reservoirs," Prein said.
The situation puts Mexico City and other major world capitals at risk for the so-called "whiplash effect," Prein said - when a city experiences a rapid swing to wet conditions that can spark flooding.
"The swings are getting more extreme due to climate change," Prein said. "This is what we see on a global scale."
(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison, Diego Delgado and Rodolfo Pena Roja, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Mexico City teeters on 'unprecedented' water shortage
Reuters Videos
Updated Wed, January 31,
STORY: In this Mexico City suburb, residents gather with their buckets - waiting for the water truck.
It’s their new norm - as the bustling metro area of 21 million people faces a water crisis.
Officials says less rainfall and longer dry seasons are to blame, with 'unprecedented' low levels in a main water system that millions rely on.
Neighbors have started to fight over water in this Mexico neighborhood.
In recent days, protests have even emerged.
Resident Maribel Gutierrez says she's been without water for more than a month now.
"We understand that Mexico City has a serious water problem," she says, but "officials should be empathetic."
Officials have asked them to change their habits to conserve as much water as possible.
Resident Juan Ortega lists some of the changes his community has made.
"We have already made it a rule that cars are no longer washed. The garden, the grass, is never watered, only the plants so that they don't die, we are going to start reusing water from washing machines for watering.”
Water shortages aren't unusual in many parts of Mexico, but officials say the capital's Cutzamala water system is the most stressed it's ever been.
Rafael Carmona is the system’s director.
"Rainfall has been decreasing from 2019 to date and the reduction in rainfall has been constant over the last four or five years. This has led to the Cutzamala system dams having very little stored water. So it has been necessary for gradual reductions in collaboration with the National Water Commission and the Water Commission of the State of Mexico, so at the moment we only have half the water we received in 2019 from the Cutzamala system."
The system's capacity continues to inch lower... at just about 40% capacity at the end of January, down from 54% this time last year.
Mexico City’s water shortages reach dangerous levels
Jenna Moon
Thu, February 1, 2024
Semafor Signals
Insights from Excelsior, Americas Quarterly, The Globe and Mail, and Fortune
The News
Mexico City residents are protesting dangerous levels of water shortages in Latin America’s second-biggest city caused by a drought gripping half of the country, as well as outdated infrastructure, Reuters reported. Nations across Latin America are grappling with the twin impacts of climate change and El Niño.
SIGNALSSemafor Signals: Global insights on today's biggest stories.
Mexico City could run out of water by AugustSources: Excelsior, Americas Quarterly
Three dams which supply water to the Valley of Mexico are only 30% full, Mexican outlet Excelsior reported this week. The National Water Commission estimates that Mexico City and some surrounding areas could run out of water by Aug. 26 if reservoirs aren’t replenished or consumptions isn’t cut significantly. Mexico is now one of the largest consumers of bottled water, along with China and the U.S., Americas Quarterly noted last year, and 57% of the population lacks access to safe drinking water. The country needs to overhaul and update its dams and distribution systems to ensure water supply to residents, the outlet wrote. The issue has taken on a fresh urgency in the lead up to Mexico’s upcoming elections: Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s former mayor, is the frontrunner to win.
El Niño, climate change have rocked South AmericaSource: The Globe And Mail
South America suffered under the heat this summer, with climate change and El Niño — a weather phenomenon which causes ocean currents to warm — both battering the continent. As temperatures rise, researchers believe that the effects of El Niño will worsen. A string of heat waves that hit Brazil lasted for days, and sometimes weeks at a time. Not only are “heat waves more widespread compared to past El Niño events, but they are also much more recurrent and intense,” one researcher told The Globe and Mail.
Panama Canal drought causes shipping mayhemSource: Fortune
Ships attempting to cross the Panama Canal are stuck in massive queues brought about by dramatically low levels of water due to the ongoing drought. Vessels can sometimes wait for weeks for space to cross, or pay millions of dollars to jump to the front of the line. A drought from El Niño meant that Gatun Lake, a major route in the canal system, received limited rain last year. “It’s just astronomically out of control,” one industry expert told Fortune.
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