Mexico City, facing the water challenge

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Bring water to almost nine million inhabitants and another 12 million people who study, work and visit it daily. Of that size is the challenge of covering the water needs of Mexico City, the largest Spanish-speaking city and the fifth most populous in the world. The challenge goes through a complex range of environmental, economic and social problems, but at the center of the debate is how to guarantee a human right that is fundamental in a country marked by chronic inequalities and in the face of a global scenario in which resources become more scarce and increasingly engaged. EL PAÍS opens the conversation with six specialists from the academy, civil organizations, companies and the public sector who have addressed this problem in a Drafting Breakfast convened this week.

"Finding solutions is an obligation, not only because we are talking about water, but also because we are in times of climatic emergency," said Javier Moreno, director of EL PAÍS América at the beginning of the conversation. In recent years, climate change has ceased to be a threat to become a matter of critical urgency. Its impact translates into changes in rainfall patterns and water availability, but it is also primed with the most vulnerable sectors, which are also the most affected.

The cleavages between rich and poor or the urban and rural mark the chasms between the realities facing different strata of society, but living in the same city. This difference is key for Blanca Jiménez, director of the National Water Commission (Conagua), the highest authority of the sector in the country. "Our main challenge is to meet the demand and discharge peaks that emerge from what has been the development model and has caused a permanent migration from the countryside to the cities," said Jiménez. The massive concentration of people with saturated services and remote communities with limited access to those services are postcards that coexist in Mexico City and other Latin American capitals. "That is why it is crucial to incorporate concepts such as efficiency to take advantage of resources and undertake communication campaigns to raise awareness among citizens," said Jordi Valls, general director of Suez in Latin America.

The disorderly population growth and urban stain is at the center of the problem. While the west and the city center are filled with high-end real estate developments that add stress to the provision of services, the shortage is exacerbated in the low-income neighborhoods in the east of the capital. The Water System of Mexico City (Sacmex), the body that is responsible for the operation of the hydraulic system, has targeted the problem of leaks, whereby 30% to 40% of the liquid is lost , and has made an investment of 300 million pesos (about 15 million dollars) to analyze the priority sectors in the distribution of the liquid. "Measurement is essential; we need citizens to have more information to create a culture of water and know how much water they consume, that produces changes," said Rafael Bernardo Carmona, coordinator of Sacmex.

Water cuts in Mexico City are becoming more frequent. EL PAÍS América debates with experts about the water collection and distribution system in the capital, taking into account the growing population and its supply needs # BreakfastsELPAÍS #AguaCDMX pic.twitter.com/n1WE2P6e2p

The maintenance of the network is often a cause of discontent with intermittent cuts and permanent shortage of liquid in some areas. The technical intersects the political and the social. "It is necessary to take other parallel measures to find solutions adapted to the local needs of each area of ​​the city," Carmona added. For Rocío García, a researcher at the Center for Atmospheric Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the causes of the problem, such as overpopulation and uncontrolled urban development, must be attacked, so as not to fall into palliative solutions. "There is no government that supports that pressure," said Garcia, who also emphasized the problem of water pollution.

"What has been done in the last 30 years has not been quite right, but when you see the amount of needs that have to be met, there is practically no other city in the world that does that," said Adrián Pedrozo, director of the Mexican Institute of Water Technology, when talking about demand, drainage discharges and reuse of treated and residual water. "There has to be more emphasis on infrastructure maintenance," Valls said. "Our role will be that decided by the public sector," added the director of Suez on the participation of the private sector.

For Anaid Velasco, research coordinator of the Mexican Center for Environmental Law, it is relevant to take into account the solutions that community water management can provide, as well as to recognize the interlocution of intermediate actors between authorities and citizens, such as Civil society organizations. "It is important to establish responsibilities, especially so that these actors are subjects of rights and obligations," Velasco said.

The commitment of the authorities is that by the end of the Government of Claudia Sheinbaum (2018-2024) there is running water for all the inhabitants of Mexico City. But the problem of water goes beyond what can be done in the sector and forces us to seek coherent measures on issues such as land use regulation and territorial reorganization, the participants agree. "It takes time, money and there is no magic wand," Jiménez acknowledged. "We cannot generate a change if poverty, social inequality and injustice are not attacked before," the official added.

Blanca Jiménez, director of the Conagua

"We have to end the narrative of the fight for water and start collaborating," says Jiménez. In his opinion, improving the water landscape in the country also involves creating a framework that attacks poverty, inequality and corruption, which aggravate the injustices in access to supply.

Jordi Valls, director of Suez in Latin America

"There are innumerable models, but to increase efficiency you have to copy what works and take advantage of the knowledge that exists," says Valls. The businessman says that in the private sector there is interest in venturing into the supply and processing of water, but that it is the Government's task to define the rules of the game so that this happens and gives certainty to all involved.

Anaid Velasco, CEMDA research coordinator

"Water is a political stronghold," says Velasco. For the lawyer, sectors that have historically been marginalized from decision-making have to be involved, as well as seeking solutions at the community level and from civil society.

Adrián Pedrozo, IMTA director

Pedrozo regrets that the development model of the last three decades aggravated the problems in the supply of basic services and damaged the environment. The key, he says, is to look for specific answers. "We have to focus on local issues to achieve equality and water justice," insists the director of IMTA.

Rocío García, UNAM researcher

"Water is a resource we all need," says the researcher at the Center for Atmospheric Science. "The issue is what water we have, what we are going to distribute and how," says García, who advocates synergies between academia, the Government and the private sector.

Rafael Bernardo Carmona, director of SACMEX

"The problem of leaks is not exclusive to Mexico City, but that does not free us from it," says Carmona. The director of SACMEX focuses on the sectoral measurement of the Mexico City network to make diagnoses and propose solutions by area, although he admits that much remains to be done in this task.