Mexico studying water supply solutions for Oaxaca

Mexican water authority Conagua plans to launch five sets of pre-investment studies next year to determine feasible infrastructure solutions to deliver more than 800l/s of water to the southern city of Oaxaca (pictured). 

The state capital and its surroundings require 1,200l/s, but local water utility Soapa is only able to provide 400l/s at present, which is extracted from 27 underground and two surface water sources, Conagua stated in a request for funds submitted to the finance ministry (SHCP), which has approved 50mn pesos (US$3mn) to finance the studies in 2024-25. 

According to the ministry’s investment portfolio, the project name will be Agua para Oaxaca (water for Oaxaca), akin to the 14.7bn-peso Agua Saludable para La Laguna program that is aimed at providing arsenic-free water to the Comarca Lagunera urban area in Durango and Coahuila states. 

The pre-investment studies will begin in May and should be concluded by February 2025. 

The first set of analyses includes a diagnosis of the city’s water situation and examination of alternative solutions and basic engineering projects for a distribution system, the second focuses on the plans to be included in the project, the third on a series of technical, economic and environmental feasibility studies, the fourth on a how existing infrastructure can be improved, and the fifth on updating the database of water users in the city.