Water security and national water law in Mexico

Abstract

Background: This article develop analyses water security in Mexico, a country where global environmental change requires social, political and economic actors to protect natural resources and ecosystem services in order to reduce the tension between anthropogenic demands and natural availability. The paper asks: How can overexploitation and inequality in the access and control of water be assessed using an integrated model of water management and how could the existing water resources in each river basin and aquifer be sustainably distributed by a new National Water Law that would encourage participation in order to overcome the conflicts over access to and control of water? Methods: With a model of integrated water management the article reviews the current use of water among different social and production sectors. Results: Agriculture still consumes 77 per cent of the water, especially in the arid north, an area greatly affected by climate change (CC). Industry uses ten per cent and domestic users thirteen per cent of water. The growing megacities are also overexploiting their aquifers, producing subsidence and water pollution together with changes in land use, thus reducing water infiltration into the aquifers during the monsoon. Regional and temporal water stress is further aggravated by unsustainable production processes, where mining and agribusiness hog the water needed by indigenous people and small farmers, forcing them to migrate to the urban centres or illegally to the US. Conclusions: Within this arena of conflict in the field of water management, the article offers several guidelines for a sustainable and participative National Water Law. Food security, including dignified life conditions for the small-scale farmers in rain-fed regions affected by CC, could be achieved with small scale irrigation system in the Southeast of Mexico, where water is available for a second crop. Their sustainable agriculture and preventive management of water pollution by organic agriculture are central activity for conserving and restoring the natural condition of water infiltration. Without an integrated water management, reduction of soil erosion, early warning and resilience-building among the exposed people, Mexico will not reduce the existing and future threats related to global environmental change and particularly to CC.

Municipal level water security indices in Mexico

“…The task of reaching improved water security implies responding not only to the risks that are observed in the present but also in giving adequate responses to new challenges that are present in the sector. Known challenges to overcome in reaching water security are water scarcity, water pollution, the adverse effects of hydrometeorological events, growing water conflicts and environmental deterioration of basins and aquifers [1,4,15,[22][23][24][25][26]31]. The methodology proposed in this paper, and applied at municipal level in Mexico, presents an option for including other topics of high concern, such as risk, hazard, and population vulnerability.…”

“…[22] analyzed the trends of demographic growth, urbanization, demand for energy and food, climate change and water management in Mexico, making recommendations with a particular focus on water security centered on the urgency of achieving good water management. Oswald Spring [26] discussed water security in Mexico, based on social, political and economic aspects, with a focus on a national water law that favors participation in developing an integrated management model that compares the current use of water among the different social and productive sectors. Arreguín-Cortes et al [1] pointed out that Mexico faces various water security challenges, such as pollution, climate change impact, water scarcity, management, and a need to strengthen water-related science and technology in the country.…”

Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes in Human Hair and Tap Water: Modeling Relationships in a Modern Mexican Population

“…However, Mexico has a long history of water stress that complicates access to local water. Water scarcity refers to the abundance or lack of water supply, and water stress refers to the inability to meet the human need for water (Spring, 2014). This challenge dates back to the 1930s when hydraulic engineers began detecting aquifer depletion (Wolfe, 2017).…”

Sustainable Wastewater Management to Reduce Freshwater Contamination and Water Depletion in Mexico

“…On the other hand, most of Mexican territory suffers under high water stress, and many regions of the country are highly vulnerable to droughts because of climate change; the contamination of its freshwater bodies will accelerate in a few years the process of the loss of water availability in many regions of the country [7][8][9]. Baseline water stress measures the ratio of total water withdrawals to the available renewable surface and groundwater supplies.…”