Water and Sanitation in the World's Cities: Local Action for Global Goals by United Nations Human Settlements Programme

Author:United Nations Human Settlements Programme [Programme, United Nations Human Settlements]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regional Planning, Public Policy, Political Science
ISBN: 9781136546914
Google: F-bZAMzRqZwC
Goodreads: 17545909
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2012-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

Box 4.1 Guadalajara's water crisis

Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico, with around 3.5 million inhabitants in 2000. It is the capital of the state of Jalisco and also the motor of its economy, which, by 1999, generated 7 per cent of Mexico's GNP. The city faces a very serious water shortage because the lake of Chapala from which it draws more than half its fresh water supply is drying up. This is largely the result of a long history of poor water management of the Lerma-Santiago Basin to which Chapala Lake belongs.

Chapala Lake is the largest lake in Mexico. Its water level has been dropping steadily for years and is at its lowest level for 100 years, with only some 23 per cent of its capacity in 2001; it is estimated that the level will decline to 19 per cent in 2002. As the lake becomes increasingly shallow, the temperature of the water increases and so too does the rate of evaporation. If the lake dries up, the city of Guadalajara will have great difficulty meeting the demand for water (already some rationing is taking place), and it will also affect the livelihoods of thousands of families who depend on it – for instance through tourism, fishing and water sports. Chapala Lake is also a natural regulator of the extended region's weather and if it dries up, it is likely to bring a decrease in rainfall.

The city of Guadalajara is seeking to cut the volume of water drawn from the lake. For example, the city will cut its withdrawals from the lake by 21 per cent during 2002, according to the most recent agreements of the basin's council, and eight different projects are being evaluated that would tap water from other sources, although all options mean going further and imply heavy investments.

Addressing this problem depends on concerted policies and actions in many states. Chapala Lake is fed by the Lerma River, which, because of water withdrawals upriver, now has decreasing flows. There are several dams upstream and heavy use of the river's water for agriculture. Urban, industrial and agricultural wastes also pollute the Lerma River as it crosses four states before arriving at the lake. The water resource problem is also not confined to Guadalajara, since the Santiago River (the lake's natural drainage) is heavily polluted by untreated industrial and urban waste- water as it flows through Guadalajara, affecting the possibilities for its use by other cities, smaller towns and farmers in the 547 kilometres it passes through before reaching the Pacific Ocean.

In part, this crisis is a result of too little attention given to water resource management (especially pollution control) over the last few decades, during which there have been rapid urban growth and increased industrialization. In the last decade, there have been important innovations within Mexico in regard to a stronger legal and institutional base for controlling pollution and managing water basins, but many city and state authorities have yet to act on these. In Guadalajara,

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