Mexico plans new water supply system for Querétaro state

Mexico’s Querétaro state and the federal government reached an agreement to supply 1,500l/s of water to the metropolitan area of the state’s capital, where population growth and nearshoring led to a spike in demand.

The population of Santiago de Querétaro grew 46% between 2010 and 2020, while companies are relocating supply chains from Asia to Mexico. 

The new proposal, entitled Sistema Batán Agua para Todos, was presented Monday during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s press conference, but details, including capex, were not provided. 

Germán Martínez Santoyo, the director of water authority Conagua, said the system would serve the capital with water from the El Batán dam which is about 16km away, but he did not say if a new aqueduct was needed. 

Governor Mauricio Kuri said, however, that the project will involve the construction of “two state-of-the-art water treatment plants,” for which tenders will be launched as soon as possible, following the completion of studies and plans. 

“We developed the executive projects, the necessary technical studies and carried out the procedures to build the Batán Agua para Todos system, a leading project in the country that allows us to reuse Querétaro's water through cutting-edge technologies, guaranteeing adequate supply, favoring ecology and environment and supporting the growth with the well-being of our families,” he said. 

While local water authority CEA will be in charge, an agreement specifies that Conagua will provide technical assistance to infrastructure projects, validate the water treatment plants and grant any water concession title available at the Batán dam. 

Kuri said it is possible to finish the project before the end of his term in 2027, but if not, the following administration will complete it in any case. 

Querétaro Aqueduct 3

An 8bn-peso (US$424mn) third aqueduct was planned last year to serve Santiago de Querétaro with water from Zimapán dam in Hidalgo state, which is about 100km from the city.

But problems emerged after Hidalgo governor Julio Menchaca backed Zimapán residents’ claims that the project could affect their supply. 

Although Conagua deemed the project feasible, the federal government has not allocated funds to the state to advance it nor provided any updates.

Mexican firm Cipro was selected last year to complete the executive designs for the intake, pumping plant, pipelines, special structures and treatment plant.