Mexico City, Mexico — The National Water Commission (Conagua) says they will take exceptional measures to ensure a water supply to homes and urban public areas after recording drought conditions.
According to Conagua, at the end of July, 22.9 percent of the country was noted as suffering from moderate to exceptional drought conditions. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) has activated alarms due to the levels of drought occurring in several states.
The agency made the emergency official through a decree published on Wednesday in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), anticipating that the National Water Commission (Conagua) will be able to take exceptional measures to ensure a water supply to homes and urban public areas.
Among the extraordinary measures that will be applied are limitations on the use of water.
“The temporary limitation of existing water rights is foreseen through the provisional reduction of volumes to the users that are in a condition of severe, extreme or exceptional drought,” says the decree.
Effected municipalities include the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Durango, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, the Yucatan Peninsula and the Valley of Mexico.
The overly dry conditions have been present in Mexico for several months. In May, Conagua reported 72.6 percent of Mexico suffered from some level of drought, a figure that dropped to 43.2 percent in June. However, in July, that figure remains, although not as high.
Conagua says during the same month last year, 15.1 percent of Mexico was affected. Conagua says they will limit access to water in places with extreme drought.
