Municipalities in Guanajuato suffer from extreme drought

Published April 18, 2021 (sp)

The drought does not let up in Guanajuato. It took only one month for the 46 municipalities of Guanajuato to report that they have some degree of drought, since in March the National Water Commission (Conagua) reported that there were 39 where drought was reported and now the entire state has this condition; the most serious thing: there are already 19 cities that have a degree of extreme drought.

According to the National Water Commission’s Drought Monitor, Guanajuato has 19 municipalities with a degree of extreme drought, that is, characterized by major losses in crops and pastures, in addition to the extreme risk of forest fires, in addition to the generalized restrictions in the use of water due to its scarcity. Last March, only the municipalities of Pénjamo and Abasolo were in this condition, but in April, in addition to these two municipalities, Acámbaro, Manuel Doblado, Coroneo, Cortazar, Cuerámaro, Huanímaro, Irapuato, Jaral del Progreso, Jerécuaro, Moroleón, Pueblo Nuevo, Salamanca, Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas, Tarandacuao, Valle de Santiago, Villagrán and Yuriria are also in extreme drought.

Conagua’s Drought Monitor reports that Guanajuato has 23 municipalities in the severe drought phase, which is characterized by probable losses in crops or pastures, high risk of fires, in addition to the fact that water shortages are common, for which the National Water Commission recommends the imposition of restrictions on water use.

The municipalities of San Miguel de Allende, Apaseo el Alto, Apaseo el Grande, Atarjea, Celaya, Comonfort, Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato capital, León, Ocampo, Purísima del Rincón, Romita, Salvatierra, San Diego de la Unión, San Felipe, San Francisco del Rincón, Santa Catarina, Santiago Maravatío, Silao, Tarimoro, Tierra Blanca, Uriangato and Xichú are in severe drought.

The situation becomes serious, since only four municipalities are within a moderate drought degree, which is characterized by the presence of some damage to crops and pastures, besides there is a high risk of fires, low levels in rivers, streams, reservoirs, watering places and wells and where the suggestion made by the authorities is to have a voluntary restriction in the use of water; in March, there were seven municipalities in this situation and now there are three less in this list; Victoria, San Luis de la Paz, San José Iturbide and Doctor Mora present the degree of moderate drought.

Guanajuato is supplied with water from two basins, the Lerma Santiago Pacífico and Golfo Norte, where the first is the one with the highest degree of drought in the territory through which it passes.

For example, the Lerma Santiago Pacific basin has an area of 48% with severe drought, while with moderate drought has 44.6% of its surface and 7.2% is in extreme drought, so the water shortage is more noticeable in this account, because during 2019 and 2020 it did not rain what it should throughout the state.

INFORMATION FROM: EL SOL DE LEÓN