Briefly
- Experts warn that Mexico City may run out of water due to low rainfall, urban growth and aging infrastructure.
- Cotzamala's water system, which supplies large parts of the city, has reached historically low levels.
- There is disagreement about the severity of the crisis and whether the city will reach “Day Zero,” the day when the water network will no longer be able to deliver water to its residents.
After years of low rainfall, chaotic urban growth and aging infrastructure, water levels have reached record levels in the system that feeds millions of people in Mexico City. Reuters Already in January.
In some places, residents have not had adequate running water for weeks, and the rainy season does not begin for another four months.
In particular, there is a problem with the Cotzamala system, a water system responsible for a large portion of the water used in Mexico City. Currently, water capacity is about 39 percent, which is a historically low percentage CNN In a large post they reported that the city may be just months away from running out of water.
Filling buckets: Residents wait their turn to get water from a truck in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood in January.
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“fake news”
Authorities and experts disagree on the severity of the crisis, and it is now being discussed whether the city will reach so-called “Day Zero.” It is the day when the Cotzamala system drops to such low levels that it will no longer be able to provide water to the city's residents.
Some experts say it could come as early as June 26, while the city's mayor, Martí Patrice Guadarrama, believes talk of such a day is “fake news.”
Experts also disagree on whether or not that day will come, but they fear it will happen if the city doesn't take action.
– It can be extreme
Raul Rodriguez Márquez, president of the nonprofit Water Advisory Council, says he doesn't think the city will break even this year — but warns it will if changes aren't made.
We are in a critical situation, and we may reach an extreme situation during the next few months, he told CNN.
In November, the city imposed strict water restrictions due to drought. Mexico City had never faced such severe and long-term water restrictions as a result of a drought, NTB wrote at the time.
City residents have experienced worse water outages in the past, but that was only due to strikes or repairs, and those outages never lasted more than two days.
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