Mexico City to carry out regional water projects to cope with droughts, floods

Mexico City will attempt to implement a series of water projects in the surrounding area including cleaning, protecting and revitalizing all surface water sources in the Mexico valley to help the metropolis cope with droughts and improve flood control. 

The city congress recently passed a bill to create a new ministry for water management to replace Mexico City’s water operator (Sacmex) and also approved the creation of a water control and management center.

The head of the new water management ministry, José Mario Esparza, told daily El Universal that apart from the operational work that Sacmex conducted, the ministry will go beyond public use and focus on other strategies like reusing treated water in the agriculture sector. 

Another aim of the new ministry is to recharge the heavily exploited Mexico valley aquifer with more water than the volume currently used for human consumption, Esparza said. 

The ministry is currently in the process of structuring its operations and aims to avoid having a deleterious impact on the public budget.

“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,” he said.

The official added that the ministry will focus on optimizing water use in the Mexico valley.

“We will improve efficiency, which I consider essential. It's crucial to think about new water sources, but efficiency is equally important,” he said.