La PAN recrimina a Morena por recortar recursos clave a la Conagua
Recortes a Conagua podrían agravar la crisis del agua en México
Jorge Romero Herrera, coordinator of the National Action Party (PAN) caucus, criticized the current government for promoting significant cuts to strategic areas of the National Water Commission (Conagua), which could worsen the water supply problem for thousands of residents.
Since the federal government, through Conagua, announced systematic cuts to the supply of drinking water in the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (ZMVM), citizens, as expressed on social media, began to express their concern about the water crisis, as the Cutzamala System, the main water supplier in Mexico City and the State of Mexico, is at critical levels.
On his part, Romero Herrera, who is also the president of the Political Coordination Board (Jucopo) of the Chamber of Deputies, pointed out that the government has made budget cuts of around 47% in drinking water infrastructure, sewage, and sanitation in the 2024 Federal Budget (PEF).
He also highlighted additional cuts of 36.8% in infrastructure for the protection of population centers and productive areas, and 27.3% in drinking water, drainage, and treatment.
He added that according to a report by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), there are more than 1,600 municipalities affected by different types of droughts (severe, extreme, and exceptional), so he lamented that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration has not declared a state of emergency.
“The worst part is that this problem will continue to worsen, so a cut in this area is truly unacceptable, in our opinion,” he said in a statement, where he also warned that there is no political will to provide more economic resources to Conagua.
“We officially ask the government to take action so that families do not lack water, but we also remind them that the doors of San Lázaro are open to experts, scientists, and specialists in the field to contribute to finding a solution to this concerning situation,” he added.
The low water level in the dam system in the country is not an exclusive problem of the Cutzamala System, as more than half of the dams in Mexico are operating at or below 50% of their capacity.
From this perspective, Conagua frequently publishes information on the water supply in its dam system, where it stated that 117 out of the 210 dams are operating with less than half of their filling capacity. It also reported that only eight dams are operating at 100% capacity.
Along with the list, there is a map that shows that the northwestern states, particularly Chihuahua, Durango, and Sonora, are the most affected.
In addition, Conagua reports that the main cause of this period of water scarcity is the meteorological changes, as unlike other years, 2024 has experienced a reduced level of rainfall with high temperatures that exacerbate drought.
