Is Mexico City without drinking water?

Due to widespread drought and a long history of aquifer exploitation, Mexico City, the largest in Latin America, counts every drop of water and fears a shortage of drinking water after the decision of local authorities to restrict the offer in certain municipalities in order to save money.

As a result, more than 200 neighborhoods and neighborhoods have experienced cuts or a complete absence of running water since the start of the year, El País newspaper reported.

“To save water, we now use buckets to wash dishes at home. “, told CNN Isidro Sánchez, a resident of the Chimilli neighborhood, of the Tlalpan delegation, south of the capital, who argued that sometimes neighbors have to collect funds to pay for the services of a tanker. .water towards the area.

“We no longer know whether to move or continue to buy water pipes (tanker trucks), which are very expensive, but something must be done. “he added.

Some experts said the lack of rain this time of year has caused the Cutzamala system, the water source that supplies part of the Valley of Mexico, to remain at very low storage levels. which partly explains the authorities’ decision to reduce supply in certain districts of the capital . The other source that supplies the city with water are its wells, but they are also in a similar situation due to drought.

“There are variables that we didn’t have a few years ago, like climate change, deforestation, pollution and of course, the prolonged lack of rain that we have because it was obvious that these seven or eight dams that make up the Cutzamala system would see their storage capacity decrease,” Raúl Rodríguez Márquez, president of the Water Advisory Council, told CNN.

The distribution of water in the CDMX is not uniform. According to data from the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), 56% of households benefit from continuous service, 17% receive water in daily batches, with an average of eight hours per day, 9% have a weekly batch service, receiving water once two or three days. per week, 4% benefit from a so-called masking water service of poor quality and 14% suffer from overexploitation; Although they receive water daily, the situation is not sustainable, these are the main challenges facing the government in the capital.

During the 2024 dry season, which extends from January to May, the most affected municipalities will be Iztacalco, Iztapalapa, Tlalpan and Venustiano Carranza It is therefore hoped that preventive measures can be taken to reduce the impact on families in the eastern and southern areas of the city.

Last week, the president convened a crisis cabinet of senior officials and management officials to resolve the issue. According to the newspaper El País, “The success or failure of the plan threatens to turn this issue into a political weapon. Water does not usually give votes, but it takes them away if there are supply problems. “.

Despite residents’ concerns, the authorities assured that there was no cause for alarm, while calling on the population to avoid wasting water. They also created a platform called “Water in your colony » which informs neighbors when and at what time water arrives in their neighborhood.

But some residents in the south of the city fear that the situation will persist due to the lack of precipitation. Alejandro Gómez told CNN that they have already started storing water in tanks and that other neighbors, for their part, are buying it in bottles. “The same water we use to wash dishes or wash clothes, we collect for bathing and other cleaning things.” . We cannot afford to waste water,” explained Gómez, who says he has had this problem of lack of water for about three months.

“The water comes for one or two hours, a trickle falls and we manage to fill two or three barrels (tanks) at most, and it doesn’t fall again for eight days, and it’s the same, once again. two or three a little more than that, now it’s enough for his needs and when the family is large, it’s not enough “, he indicated.