{"id":16032,"date":"2024-02-25T12:46:26","date_gmt":"2024-02-25T12:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/25\/one-of-the-worlds-biggest-cities-may-be-just-months-away-from-running-out-of-water\/"},"modified":"2024-02-25T12:46:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T12:46:26","slug":"one-of-the-worlds-biggest-cities-may-be-just-months-away-from-running-out-of-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/25\/one-of-the-worlds-biggest-cities-may-be-just-months-away-from-running-out-of-water\/","title":{"rendered":"One of the world\u2019s biggest cities may be just months away from running out of water"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Alejandro Gomez has been without proper running water for more than three months. Sometimes it comes on for an hour or two, but only a small trickle, barely enough to fill a couple of buckets. Then nothing for many days. <\/p>\n

Gomez, who lives in Mexico City\u2019s Tlalpan district, doesn\u2019t have a big storage tank so can\u2019t get water truck deliveries \u2014 there\u2019s simply nowhere to store it. Instead, he and his family eke out what they can buy and store. <\/p>\n

Water shortages are not uncommon in this neighborhood, but this time feels different, Gomez said. \u201cRight now, we are getting this hot weather. It\u2019s even worse, things are more complicated.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mexico City, a sprawling metropolis of nearly 22 million people and one of the world\u2019s biggest cities, is facing a severe water crisis as a tangle of problems \u2014 including geography, chaotic urban development and leaky infrastructure \u2014 are compounded by the impacts of climate change. <\/p>\n

Years of abnormally low rainfall, longer dry periods and high temperatures have added stress to a water system already straining to cope with increased demand. Authorities have been forced to introduce significant restrictions on the water pumped from reservoirs. <\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral neighborhoods have suffered from a lack of water for weeks, and there are still four months left for the rains to start,\u201d said Christian Dom\u00ednguez Sarmiento, an atmospheric scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). <\/p>\n

Politicians are downplaying any sense of crisis, but <\/strong>some experts say the situation has now reached such critical levels that Mexico City could be barreling towards \u201cday zero\u201d in a matter of months \u2014 where the taps run dry for huge swaths of the city. <\/p>\n

Historic lows<\/h2>\n

Densely populated Mexico City stretches out across a high-altitude lake bed, around 7,300 feet above sea level. It was built on clay-rich soil \u2014 into which it is now sinking \u2014 and is prone to earthquakes and highly vulnerable to climate change. It\u2019s perhaps one of the last places anyone would choose to build a megacity today. <\/p>\n

The Aztecs chose this spot to build their city of Tenochtitlan in 1325, when it was a series of lakes. They built on an island, expanding the city outwards, constructing networks of canals and bridges to work with the water. <\/p>\n

But when the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, they tore down much of the city, drained the lakebed, filled in canals and ripped out forests. They saw \u201cwater as an enemy to overcome for the city to thrive,\u201d said Jose Alfredo Ramirez, an architect and co-director of Groundlab, a design and policy research organization. <\/p>\n

Their decision paved the way for many of Mexico City\u2019s modern <\/strong>problems. Wetlands and rivers have been replaced with concrete and asphalt. In the rainy season, it floods. In the dry season, it\u2019s parched. <\/p>\n

Around 60% of Mexico City\u2019s water comes from its underground aquifer, but this has been so over-extracted that the city is sinking at a frightening rate \u2014 around 20 inches a year, according to recent research. And the aquifer is not being replenished anywhere near fast enough. The rainwater rolls off the city\u2019s hard, impermeable surfaces, rather than sinking into the ground. <\/p>\n

The rest of the city\u2019s water is pumped vast distances uphill from sources outside the city, in an incredibly inefficient process, during which around 40% of the water is lost through <\/strong>leaks. <\/p>\n

\n

<\/span> These five cities could be one natural disaster away from a catastrophic water crisis<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Cutzamala water system, a network of reservoirs, pumping stations, canals and tunnels, supplies about 25% of the water used by the Valley of Mexico, which includes Mexico City.\u00a0But severe drought has taken its toll. Currently, at around 39% of capacity, it\u2019s been languishing at a historic low. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost half of the amount of water that we should have,\u201d said Fabiola Sosa-Rodr\u00edguez, head of economic growth and environment at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City. <\/p>\n

In October, Conagua, the country\u2019s national water commission, announced it would restrict water from Cutzamala by 8% \u201cto ensure the supply of drinking water to the population given the severe drought.\u201d <\/p>\n

Just a few weeks later, officials significantly tightened restrictions, reducing the water supplied by the system by nearly 25%, blaming extreme weather conditions. <\/p>\n

\u201cMeasures will have to be taken to be able to distribute the water that Cutzamala has over time, to ensure that it does not run out,\u201d Germ\u00e1n Arturo Mart\u00ednez Santoyo, the director general of Conagua, said in a statement at the time. <\/p>\n

Around 60% of Mexico is experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, according to a February report. <\/strong>Nearly 90% of Mexico City is in severe drought \u2014 and it\u2019s set to get worse with the start of the rainy season still months away. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are around the middle of the dry season with sustained temperature increases expected until April or May,\u201d said June Garcia-Becerra, an assistant professor in engineering at the University of Northern British Columbia. <\/p>\n

Natural climate variability heavily affects this part of Mexico. Three years of La Ni\u00f1a brought drought to the region, and then the arrival of El Ni\u00f1o last year helped deliver a painfully short rainy season that <\/strong>failed to replenish the reservoirs. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/span> The world\u2019s largest lakes are shrinking dramatically, and scientists say they have figured out why<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But the long-term trend of human-caused global warming hums in the background, fueling longer droughts and fiercer heat waves, as well as heavier rains when they do arrive. <\/p>\n

\u201cClimate change has made droughts increasingly severe due to the lack of water,\u201d said UNAM\u2019s Sarmiento. Added to this, high temperatures \u201chave caused the water that is available in the Cutzamala system to evaporate,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Last summer saw brutal heat waves roil large parts of the country, which claimed at least 200 lives. These heat waves would have been \u201cvirtually impossible\u201d without climate change, according to an analysis by scientists. <\/p>\n

The <\/strong>climate impacts have collided with the growing pains of a fast-expanding city. As the population booms, <\/strong>experts <\/strong>say <\/strong>the centralized water system has not kept pace. <\/p>\n

\u2018Day zero?\u2019<\/h2>\n

The crisis has set up a fierce debate about whether the city will reach a \u201cday zero,\u201d where the Cutzamala system falls to such low levels that it will be unable to provide any water to the city\u2019s residents. <\/p>\n

Local media widely reported in early February that an official from a branch of Conagua said that without significant rain, \u201cday zero\u201d could arrive as early as June 26. <\/p>\n

But authorities have since sought to assure residents there will be no day zero. In a press conference on February 14, Mexican President <\/strong>Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador said that work was underway to address the water problems. Mexico City\u2019s mayor, Mart\u00ed Batres <\/strong>Guadarrama, said in a recent press conference that reports of day zero were \u201cfake news\u201d spread by political opponents. <\/p>\n

But many experts warn of a spiraling crisis. Mexico City could run out of water before the rainy season arrives if it carries on using it in the same way, Sosa-Rodr\u00edguez said. \u201cIt\u2019s probable that we will face a day zero,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean a complete collapse of the water system, she said, because the city isn\u2019t dependent on just one source. It won\u2019t be the same as when <\/strong>Cape Town in South Africa came perilously close to running totally dry in 2018 following a severe multi-year drought. \u201cSome groups will still have water,\u201d she said, \u201cbut most of the people won\u2019t.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ra\u00fal Rodr\u00edguez M\u00e1rquez, president of the non-profit Water Advisory Council, said he doesn\u2019t believe the city will reach a day zero this year \u2014 but, he warned, it will if changes are not made. <\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t think anyone is prepared\u2019<\/h2>\n

For nearly a decade, Sosa-Rodr\u00edguez said she has been warning officials of the danger of a day zero for Mexico City. <\/p>\n

She said the solutions are clear: Better wastewater treatment would both increase water availability and decrease pollution, while rainwater harvesting systems could capture and treat the rain, and allow residents to reduce their reliance on the water network or water trucks by 30%. <\/p>\n

Fixing leaks would make the system much more efficient and reduce the volume of water that has to be extracted from the aquifer. And nature-based solutions, such as restoring rivers and wetlands, would help provide and purify water, she said, with the added advantage of greening and cooling the city. <\/p>\n

In a statement on its website, Conagua said it is undertaking a 3-year project to install, develop and improve water infrastructure to help the city cope with decreases in the Cutzamala system, including adding new wells and commissioning water treatment plants. <\/p>\n

But in the meantime, tensions are rising as some residents are forced to cope with shortages, while others \u2014 often in the wealthier enclaves \u2014 remain mostly unaffected. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a clear unequal access to water in the city and this is related to people\u2019s income,\u201d Sosa-Rodr\u00edguez said. While day zero might not be here yet for the whole of Mexico City, some neighborhoods have been grappling with it for years, she added. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone is prepared.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alejandro Gomez has been without proper running water for more than three months. Sometimes it comes on for an hour or two, but only a small trickle, barely enough to fill a couple of buckets. Then nothing for many days. Gomez, who lives in Mexico City\u2019s Tlalpan district, doesn\u2019t have a big storage tank so <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":16033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}