Mexico City to move forward with water optimization plans

Mexico City’s newly created water management department wants to clean and rehabilitate superficial water bodies in Mexico Valley.

Department director José Mario Esparza said the rehabilitation of water bodies will help mitigate floods and droughts and won’t break the capital’s finances. 

“We want to be mindful of the budget, ensuring that a single project can address multiple issues, such as restoring surface water bodies to help mitigate floods caused by heavy rainfall, while also creating new sources of potable water,” Esparza told El Universal daily. 

Miguel Cancino, an environmental expert and senior associate at DAT Consultores, believes the execution of this plan in a context of austerity is possible but difficult considering that about half of the superficial water bodies in the country – rivers, lagoons, lakes – are polluted and did not pass the latest water quality tests performed by national water authority Conagua, whose results were published last week. Over a third of ground water sources also failed the test.

“In a context of austerity, the plan isn’t impossible with a gradual, detailed, and structured approach,” Cancino told BNamericas, “This would imply prioritizing the most urgent and most impactful actions, like cleaning the most critical water bodies or those closer to inhabited areas.”

Those water bodies critical to Mexico Valley include the rivers Magdalena, Mixcoac, Tacubaya, Río Hondo and Río de los Remedios, and the Cuautitlán. Xochimilco and Tláhuac canals, as well as dams like Madín, Los Cuartos, and San Joaquín, according to Conagua.

“Public-private collaboration schemes could be another option to explore, or even programs that include society and NGOs to maximize all available resources,” said Cancino. 

“Another alternative could be seeking external financing sources from international organizations to support environmental initiatives or to access federal programs that complement the local budget.”