Due to the lack of rain, ranchers and farmers in northern Mexico have experienced livestock losses, and despite drilling wells in search of water, they are left empty-handed, as the vital liquid is nonexistent.
Although hurricanes recently brought water to various states, the situation in areas bordering the United States goes beyond meteorological issues and is due to multiple factors, ranging from the historical political context to organized crime.
The price of water in Sinaloa has increased by almost 5% over the last year, a trend that, according to experts, could intensify as the drought worsens in Mexico.
In this context, illegal water exploitation has become one of the main threats to water security and access in the country, especially in specific regions such as the northern states of Sinaloa, Sonora, Chihuahua, and Coahuila, where people are facing an “exceptional drought,” the highest level according to the Mexico Drought Monitor of the National Water Commission (CONAGUA).
This situation worsened in March, when the United States refused to release water from the Colorado River to Mexico for the first time in eight decades, due to noncompliance with binational water distribution agreements.
A CONAGUA report identified 5,000 illegal taps on water pipelines in the north of the country, almost triple the number detected five years ago.
In March 2024, Mexico City authorities proposed a legal reform to toughen penalties for these illegal connections in response to the water crisis. The control of water by criminal groups goes beyond theft.
During a field investigation conducted by Insight Crime in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in April of this year, various sources indicated that organizations such as the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel have imposed an illegal charging system on commercial water distributors, forcing redistribution on their own terms, affecting both prices and security.
In addition, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Mazatlecos use threats to take control of irrigation systems in agricultural fields, gaining access to information on the number of crops and the volume of water required by each producer. Using this information, they demand payments in exchange for maintaining the supply.
Context of the Water Shortage
On April 28, Mexico announced that it would fulfill its commitments to restore the flow, and in the state of Michoacán, authorities have implemented satellite technology to combat water theft.
Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla reported that the environmental monitoring system, supported by NASA and European Union satellites, now monitors 35,000 dams to prevent them from being filled illegally during the dry season. If high levels are detected, the government will investigate the source of the water.
Bedolla stated that this system will allow authorities to “address environmental crimes on a large scale like never before in the history of the state.” In the case of Lake Pátzcuaro, one of the main freshwater reserves in inland Mexico, it has been a frequent target of illegal extraction.
In April of last year, police deployed operations to protect the lake after verifying that water theft and drought had reduced its surface area by 42%, reaching historic lows.
In one intervention, security forces dismantled a pumping system that had siphoned off more than 100,000 liters of water in just eight hours, using dozens of meters of pipes to divert the water to an avocado plantation.
However, the problem is not limited to Michoacán. According to experts consulted by Connectas, up to 15% of Mexico’s water could be lost to theft.
Source: infobae
