David Uribe Gutiérrez, general director of watersheds and water planning of Semarnath, gave details of the plan to solve the water problems.
The Hidalgo government is working on a program that will allow the state to achieve water sustainability in the next 15 years and have the liquid available for human consumption in addition to recharging the aquifers.
David Uribe Gutiérrez, general director of watersheds and water planning of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Hidalgo (Semarnath), said that the Hidalgo Water Program 2040 finished its first stage of diagnosis and that the second and last stage will be in the last quarter of the year to begin its implementation.
“The program is being developed where, based on environmental and water diagnoses at the state and regional level, actions will be defined in the short and medium term to achieve water sustainability in Hidalgo, where the availability of water for human use is prioritized.”
He explained that in the first stage, a diagnosis was made of the water supply sources, both surface and underground, as well as the situation of the water operating organizations.
Overexploitation of aquifers in Hidalgo
Of the 21 aquifers in the state in the Gulf North, Gulf Center and Aguas del Valle de México regions of the country, three of them have a negative average annual availability of groundwater, that is, water deficit.
According to the National Water Commission (Conagua), these are the Tulancingo Valley aquifer in the Gulf North region; the Acaxochitlán aquifer in the Gulf Center region; and the Tepeji del Río aquifer in the Aguas del Valle de México.
Uribe Gutiérrez mentioned that Huichapan is no longer on the list of overexploited aquifers, however, he pointed out that as of November 2023, Conagua reported a new aquifer with overexploitation in Hidalgo: Acaxochitlán.
“We are integrating the file for the second stage of the program to be able to hold sectoral forums where the different independents, institutions, academia, and the social sector participate in the proposals for care. The idea is that it will be concluded in the last quarter of the year, where there are already proposals for care by region and also financing schemes because without a doubt every project will require a significant investment to attend to this, as is the case for treatment plants. It is essential to invest in this health infrastructure,” he said.
Dams without water and drought in the 84 municipalities
The National Water Commission reported, as of June 15 of this year, that the Taxhimay dam is at 54.5 percent of its capacity, the Requena dam at 2.4 percent, the Endhó dam at 32.4 percent, the Javier Rojo Gómez dam at 26.8 percent and the Vicente Aguirre dam at 0.6 percent of its capacity, which together add up to a water storage percentage of 29.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Conagua Drought Monitor in Mexico, as of May 31, reported that the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo are experiencing drought, of which 31 of them are experiencing extreme drought and 53 exceptional drought.
In extreme drought, the National Water Commission explains, there are greater losses in crops and pastures, the risk of forest fires is extreme, restrictions on the use of water are widespread due to its scarcity, while in exceptional drought there are exceptional and widespread losses of crops or pastures, exceptional risk of fires, total shortage of water in reservoirs, streams and wells, an emergency situation is likely due to the absence of water.
There should be priority projects
David Uribe pointed out that based on the problems regarding water in the different regions of the state, priority projects should be defined through the 2024 Water Program.
He added that these projects should be viable, from the harvesting of water, the reuse of the liquid as well as the reuse of wastewater, “we need to bet on having resilient communities, adapting to the situation that we have today in our localities.”
The state official stressed that the focus must be on infiltrating the state’s aquifers to recharge them, “we need to focus on infiltration with reforestation projects, with aquifer recharge projects.”
He added that public policies and programs are required from the different authorities in the state, however, he called on the population to manage water efficiently, “we are all responsible for the situation that is presented, in the state, in the municipalities.”
He added that water should be used, that municipalities should invest in wastewater treatment plants, and that it is essential that the industrial sector stops using drinking water in its processes.
Source: milenio
