Water resources management in Mexico
| Water resources management in Mexico | |
|---|---|
| Withdrawals by sector 2008 |
|
| Surface water produced internally | 361 km3 (87 cu mi) |
| Groundwater recharge | 139 km3 (33 cu mi) |
| Overlap shared by surface water and groundwater | 91 km3 (22 cu mi) |
| External renewable water resources | 48.22 10^9 m3 per capita |
| Renewable water resources per capita | 3,606 m3 (127,300 cu ft) |
| Wetland designated as Ramsar sites | 53,178.57 km2 (13,140,710 acres) |
| Hydropower generation | 22% |
Water resources management is a significant challenge for Mexico. Furthermore, water management is imposing a heavy cost to the economy. The arid northwest and central regions contain 77% of Mexico's population and generate 87% of the gross domestic product (GDP). By contrast, the poorer southern regions have abundant water resources ;however, surface and groundwater are overexploited and polluted thus leading to an insufficient water availability to support economic development and environmental sustainability. The country has in place a system of water resources management that includes both central (federal) and decentralized (basin and local) institutions.
Mexico has a long and well-established tradition on water resources management (WRM) which started approximately in the 1930s when the country began investing heavily in water storage facilities and groundwater development to expand irrigation and supply water to the rapidly increasing population.
The 1934 Código Agrario, promulgated during the Cárdenas administration (1934–1940), granted the federal government powers to define the “public interest” to which water could be harnessed. By virtue of such legislation, between the 1930s and 1970s, the rural community and ejido sector were subject to direct federal control over water. Private landowners, on the other hand, enjoyed the benefits of federally subsidized irrigation infrastructure and guaranteed market prices. Over time, large landowners became highly capitalized, while small land owners, by the 1970s, were suffering from the effects of water monopolies.
In the 1970s, the Mexican government entered into a tripartite agreement with the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program to prepare the 1975 National Water Plan (NWP), which identified the need to enact a New Water Law (NWL) and a National Water Authority (ANA) as well as decentralize responsibilities and promote water user participation in operational and maintenance (O&M). The NWP spurred a significant institutional development and infrastructural achievements: (i) the federal government transfer responsibilities for water supply and sanitation to municipalities and states in 1983, (ii) the Mexican Institute of Water Technology was established in 1986, (iii) the National Commission on Water (CONAGUA) was established in 1988, and (iv) in 1989, the first Basin Council was created in Lerma Chapala, incorporating water users from multiple sectors.
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