Guanajuato, close to “Day Zero” for running out of water

Published August 23rd, 2021

Guanajuato ranks second nationally as the state with the highest risk of running out of water for its inhabitants, according to data from the World Resources Institute (WRI).

Guanajuato has a mark of 4.95 to reach “Day Zero”, as it is determined when a place is about to run out of vital resource in the very near future, causing the availability of water to be insufficient to meet the needs of the inhabitants.

When there is a lack of water, the repercussions are not only for daily household use but also have a negative impact on the economy due to “water stress”, that is, when the demand for drinking water is higher than the amount available.

Hence, the issue of “El Zapotillo” is just a drop to try to fill the glass of water that the State of Guanajuato needs because the municipality of Leon finished with its reserves due to the increase of its industries, just the phenomenon that Celaya is already suffering.

Based on WRI scores where (0-1) is a low risk, (1-2) is a medium-low risk, (2-3) is a medium high risk, (3-4) is high risk, and (4-5) is an extremely high risk. In Mexico, there are 14 states with a high risk of reaching “Day Zero”.

Recently in León, local authorities reported, for example, that the average water consumption of a person from León is 135 liters per day when the national average is 290 liters per person per day.

In fact, the president of SAPAL’s Board of Directors, Jorge Ramírez Hernández, explained that water is currently extracted at a depth of more than 350 meters and every year the aquifer suffers a drop of 1.5 to 2 meters, however, he pointed out that the city has approximately a decade left for its water supply.

RISK

1. Baja California Sur | Score: 5.00
2. Guanajuato | Score: 4.94
3. Mexico City | Score: 4.90
4. Aguascalientes | Score: 4.81
5. State of Mexico | Score: 4.76
6. Querétaro | Score: 4.71
7. Hidalgo | Score: 4.63
8. Chihuahua | Score: 4.6315. Tamaulipas | Score: 4.11
9. Zacatecas | Score: 4.63
10. Sonora | Score: 4.60
11. Sinaloa | Score: 4.47
12. Nuevo León | Score: 4.44
13. Morelos | Score: 4.33
14. Jalisco | Score: 4.22
15. Tamaulipas | Score: 4.11