The Jalisco State Congress plenary session approved an 80 percent discount on utility bills for citizens affected by contaminated water supplied to households in the Guadalajara metropolitan area by the Inter-municipal System of Potable Water and Sewerage Services (Siapa).
This discount—which would apply to approximately 600 neighborhoods and benefit around 750,000 people for the remainder of the year (through December 15)—is contingent upon verification that the water received is of poor quality.
The 31 local deputies present at Tuesday’s session (out of a total of 38) also approved an additional stipulation for the initiative originally championed by PAN legislator Claudia Murguía: water consumption must not exceed 25 cubic meters per month, and the Siapa governing board must issue—”within 15 calendar days of the publication of this decree”—a resolution defining the specific zones where the authorized benefit applies.
The decree also reinforces measures already implemented by the administration of Pablo Lemus (of the MC party)—backed by a 100-million-peso investment—involving the installation of portable water purification plants that rotate to different locations across the city to guarantee a supply of clean water, including the dispatch of tanker trucks to affected neighborhoods.
The document further notes that the benefit extends to commercial establishments, provided they are small businesses and their consumption does not exceed the 25-cubic-meter monthly limit.
On Monday, Guadalajara city councilor José María Martínez (of the Morena party) submitted a citizen petition to the state Congress titled “If there is no clean water, there is no payment.” Backed by 31,508 signatures, the petition demands that authorities not charge for a substandard service.
Martínez presented three initiatives to the state legislature aiming to completely exempt families affected by receiving murky, sediment-laden, or foul-smelling water from paying service fees. At the same time, Government Secretary Salvador Zamora, joined by mayors from various political parties, demanded that the federal government pay 232.7 million pesos—funds he stated remain outstanding under the Fee Rebate Program (Prodder)—and provide compensation for cuts to the Social Infrastructure Contribution Fund.
In a press conference, Zamora explained that the failure to release federal Prodder funds affects 13 water utility agencies and 17 municipalities across the state.
Compounding this outstanding debt is a 10 percent reduction in the social infrastructure fund; he stated that this represents a cumulative loss of 547.1 million pesos for Jalisco’s 125 municipalities over the years 2025 and 2026.
Mayors from parties including the PRI, PAN, MC, Morena, and PVEM stated that the lack of these federal funds forced local administrations to use their own resources to finance drinking water, drainage, and sewerage projects.
Among the affected entities, the State Water Commission stands out with an outstanding balance of 127 million pesos, as does the inter-municipal water system itself, which is still owed 22 million pesos in federal funds.
Source: jornada
