Persistent water shortages in Mexico City have been exacerbated by a combination of more frequent extreme weather events, rapid population growth, and swift expansion of urban areas, according to Mexican experts.
Water scarcity has been a longstanding urban challenge in the Mexican capital for decades, stemming from natural factors such as droughts and human-induced issues like significant underinvestment in the local water supply infrastructure.
"In recent decades, more and more people demand water. And they don't have access to it, so it's almost the same amount of water that has to be distributed among many more people. That is probably the main reason. The second reason is that in previous decades there was not enough investment in the infrastructure. After we use water, we just simply get rid of it. And what we don't do is to re-clean or clean again the water to distribute among people," said Victor Orlando Magana, a researcher at the Institute of Geography under the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
According to municipal data, over 12,000 kilometers of water supply pipelines are long overdue for maintenance, resulting in severe leakage issues in the city.
Additionally, groundwater faces problems such as overexploitation and significant pollution. Unequal distribution of water resources among different districts in the city is also a pressing concern.
"The exploitation rate of groundwater in Mexico City is 2.15 times faster than its natural recharge rate. If this exploitation rate continues without intervention, groundwater resources could be depleted within the next four to five decades," said Jorge Alberto Arriaga, coordinator of the Water Network Project at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Water shortages worsen in Mexico City as extreme weather and urban growth collide
