Main Government Programs.
Since the presidential campaign, President Fox referred to the water problem in as a national security issue. President Fox took office on December 1, 2000 and one of the first programs launched by his government was for protecting Mexico’s water and forests. This program called National Crusade for Forests and Water is a general document which asseses the problem, and sets guidelines and defines many specific projects that will involve private investment, technologies and services.
From this document, the CNA developed its strategic guidelines for Mexico’s water sector, which will be implemented during the period 2001-2006. The guidelines and objectives are as follows:
-
Promote Efficient Water Use in Agriculture:
-
Increase water use efficiency in irrigation districts by the construction of irrigation infrastructure.
-
Develop new zones for irrigated agriculture, especially in Mexico’s southeast region.
-
Strengthening user organization.
-
Promote the substitution of water from wells with treated water for non-vegetable agriculture.
-
Promote Coverage and Quality of Water and Sanitation Services:
-
Increase water coverage especially in rural zones lacking of service.
-
Improve coverage and quality in the supply for potable water, sewer and sanitation services in urban areas.
-
Promote wastewater treatment and substitution of first use water with treated water.
-
Promote the efficiency of local water utilities.
-
Develop alternative supply sources by the adoption of new technologies such as rainfall caption and water re-injection.
-
Achieve Sustainable Management of Basins and Aquifers.
-
Measure and publish volumes of water available and used in the different basins and aquifers serving as sources of water.
-
Reduce extraction volumes until balance is achieved.
-
Reduce water pollution by promoting treatment and remediation.
-
Orient economic development to these zones with grater water availability.
-
Promote Technical, Managerial and Financial Development of the Water Sector.
-
Increase resources destined to the sector, specially those focused to create efficient and self-sufficient water utilities.
-
Consolidate Federal involvement in the sector as regulatory and policy making while transferring operational and investment activities to the local authorities to achieve a better water management.
-
Generate and transfer necessary technology.
-
Promote Water Culture:
-
Consolidate basin councils.
-
Promote the National Crusade for Water and Forests.
-
Create conscience among population on the economic and strategic value of water.
-
Prevent Risks and Attend Effects of Natural Disasters and Droughts:
-
Improve the meteorological alert systems.
-
Develop master plans to prevent and attend natural disasters.
-
Protect inhabitants of high-risk zones.
To implement those guidelines, the CNA will work with the Secretariats of the Environment, Economy and Agriculture, as well as with other institutions of the Federal Government. The main programs that will help CNA achieve its strategic goals are FINFRA, FINFRA II, FORTEM, The Disasters Management Program, explained in chapter 2.3 of this report, and the voluntary audit program explained in chapter 2.4 of this report.
Potable Water Market: Overview, Coverage, Capacity and Technologies.
O
n a gross basis Mexico is rich in water resources, receiving about 4,900 m3 of water per inhabitant per year. 2 At the same time there is a great disparity between where these resources are located and where they are needed. A great majority of water resources and rainfall occur in the southeastern portion of the country while the vast majority of the population (77%) resides in the central highlands and north of the country, thus water availability in the most populated regions averages 1,930 m3 per inhabitant per year. In addition to this situation, rainfall in the northern region occurs in four months of the year, having large drought periods.
This uneven distribution of the resource has caused water to be scarce in some areas, for example, in the arid northern regions of Mexico, surface water sources are non-existent and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new underground sources.
Mexico consumes approximately 78 billion m3 of water per year, being 83% used for agriculture purposes, 12% for urban consumption and 5% for industrial use. Of the total urban consumption, 80% is used for household, 15% commercial and 5% industrial use.
70% of Mexico’s water used comes from superficial sources and the remaining 30% from underground aquifers. Underground water is of special importance for Mexico since it supplies 1/3 of the agricultural users, 2/3 of the population and 50% of the industry.
The CNA estimates that at least 100 of the 600 aquifers used in Mexico are overexploited and a number ranging from 50-100 were illegally tapped and are being used without any control. Approximately 50% of the volume of underground water used in Mexico comes from overexploited aquifers. This situation is one of the main drivers behind Mexico’s interest in promoting wastewater treatment and reuse, and for minimizing water losses in municipal systems.
Overexploited Aquifers
Global weather changes are also another important factor driving Mexico’s interest to protect its water resources. The phenomenon “El Niño” has increased its frequency over the last decade, and this phenomenon’s impact is; less rainfall and subsequantly less superficial water and less natural aquifer recharge. The frequency of hurricanes especially in Mexico’s southeast region and droughts in northern Mexico have also increased, causing damages estimated in over US$500 million per year.
Despite fundamental supply problems, Mexico has been able to supply an increasing percentage of its growing population with potable water. Mexico has increased the percentage of the population with access to potable water from 76.9% in 1995 to 87.4% in 2000. Coverage is much higher in urban areas than in rural areas as, 91.5% of urban residents have access to potable water while only 65.7% of rural residents enjoy such access. The Fox government has set a preliminary goal of increasing potable water coverage to 92% of the population. This will only be achieved if private participation in the provision of the services is achieved and if the federal government focuses its investment efforts in poorer communities.
According to SEMARNAT, the following cities face severe water supply problems:
-
In the North border region: Ensenada, Mexicali, Tijuana, San Luis Río Colorado, Nogales, Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Acuña, Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, Río Bravo and Matamoros.
-
Cities where economic development has caused water supply problems: Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, León, Toluca, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Coatzacoalcos, Chihuahua, Carmen, Aguascalientes and Hermosillo.
-
Cities where touristic development has caused water supply problems: Acapulco, Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Mazatlán, Manzanillo, Los Cabos and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.
-
Cities with water quality problems: Zimapán, Torreón and Saltillo.
-
Cities with conflicts for use of water with agricultural users: Culiacán and Los Mochis.
These cities will be considered as priority urban areas for development of water supply projects.
In 1999 Mexican potable water plants supplied consumers with 78.2 m3/s, which represented 25.2% of the national water supply estimated at 309.1 m3/s. A total of 66 plants with a capacity of 5.1 m3/s are out of operation due to lack of maintenance or obsolecense. Many of these plants are considered for rehabilitation.
The most used processes for water purification are conventional clarification, with 260 plants representing an equivalent of 70% of the total capacity, and direct filtration with 23 plants and 15% of the total purification capacity. An inventory of plants by State and Technology is as follows:
Potable Water Plants By State and Technology (1999)
|
No. of
Plants
|
|
Functioning Plants
(Lps)
|
Non Functioning
Plants
|
|
|
State
|
Type of Plant
|
No.
|
Capacity
|
Actual
Output
|
No.
|
Capacity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aguascalientes
|
1
|
CC(1)
|
1
|
18.0
|
10.0
|
|
|
Baja California N.
|
19
|
CC(15), CP(1), DF(3)
|
19
|
8,684.0
|
5,896.5
|
|
|
Baja California Sur
|
1
|
DE(1)
|
|
0.1
|
|
1
|
0.1
|
Campeche
|
3
|
S(1), CC(2)
|
3
|
525.0
|
403.0
|
|
|
Coahuila
|
3
|
CC(3)
|
3
|
1,100.0
|
1,000.0
|
|
|
Colima
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Chiapas
|
4
|
CC(2), CP(2)
|
3
|
2,500.0
|
1,910.0
|
1
|
|
Chihuahua
|
4
|
CC(3), CP(1)
|
3
|
820.0
|
540.0
|
1
|
150.0
|
Distrito Federal
|
4
|
CC(2), DI(2)
|
4
|
1,255.0
|
680.0
|
|
|
Durango
|
12
|
AC(2), MT(10)
|
12
|
20.5
|
12.4
|
|
|
Guanajuato
|
2
|
CC(2)
|
2
|
400.0
|
310.0
|
|
|
Guerrero
|
12
|
S(1), CC(5), CP(3), DF(1), SF(2)
|
8
|
3,950.0
|
2,905.0
|
4
|
770.0
|
Hidalgo
|
2
|
CC(2)
|
2
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
|
|
Jalisco
|
17
|
CC(16), CP(1)
|
15
|
13,291.0
|
11,069.0
|
2
|
68.0
|
Estado de México
|
6
|
CC(4), CP(1), DI(1)
|
4
|
19,825.0
|
15,725.0
|
2
|
15.0
|
Michoacán
|
3
|
CC(2), CP(1)
|
2
|
1,328.0
|
1,200.0
|
1
|
8.0
|
Morelos
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Nayarit
|
3
|
CC(1), CP(2)
|
3
|
230.0
|
120.0
|
|
|
Nuevo León
|
9
|
CC(4), DF(3), SF(2)
|
8
|
14,435.0
|
5,376.0
|
1
|
50.0
|
Oaxaca
|
6
|
CC(3), DI(2), DF(1)
|
6
|
1,151.3
|
611.3
|
|
|
Puebla
|
1
|
CP(1)
|
|
20.0
|
|
1
|
20.0
|
Querétaro
|
2
|
CC(2)
|
2
|
24.0
|
25.0
|
|
|
Quintana Roo
|
6
|
S(6)
|
4
|
1,290.0
|
760.0
|
2
|
260.0
|
San Luis Potosí
|
9
|
CC(3), CP(2), DF(3), MT(1)
|
8
|
918.8
|
783.8
|
1
|
20.0
|
Sinaloa
|
136
|
CC(100), CP(7), DF(5), SF(24)
|
119
|
5,680.0
|
5,300.0
|
17
|
242.0
|
Sonora
|
31
|
CC(30), DF(1)
|
21
|
4,715.0
|
2,356.5
|
10
|
1,866.0
|
Tabasco
|
19
|
CC(15), CP(4)
|
18
|
3,875.0
|
3,335.0
|
1
|
500.0
|
Tamaulipas
|
53
|
CC(33), CP(15), DF(5)
|
42
|
12,966.0
|
9,815.0
|
11
|
396.0
|
Tlaxcala
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Veracrúz
|
11
|
CC(10), DF(1)
|
9
|
6,145.0
|
4,215.0
|
2
|
25.0
|
Yucatán
|
11
|
S(9), CP(2)
|
3
|
4,745.0
|
3,700.0
|
8
|
745.0
|
Zacatecas
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Total
|
390
|
|
324
|
110,011.7
|
78,158.5
|
66
|
5,135.1
|
Source: CNA, 1999
KEY: MT = MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY; S = WATER SOFTENING; AC = ACTIVATED CARBON; CC = COVENTIONAL CLARIFICATION; DE = DESALINIZATION; DI = DE-IRONING; DF= DIRECT FILTATION; SF = SLOW FILTRATION; CP = COMPLETE PURIFICATION
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