The “Acuaferico” in San Miguel: More doubts than certainties

Published March 9, 2021

In October 2020, this vast project for supplying water to the city was presented to the City Council by the city’s water board, SAPASMA. According to the presentation made by its manager, a set of eight wells would be drilled on the bank of the Allende dam, between the San Marcos and Cabras Juan Xidó communities, in order to pump water several kilometers to storage tanks at different points from the city to supply the urban area. The stated reasons were the greater demand for water from new real estate developments and the insufficiency –accepted for the first time– of the existing urban wells to meet this demand. This project has aroused the disagreement from the communal representatives of the drilling area, who fear losing the supply of their wells, plus several local NGOs, which have questioned the viability of such a project:

How could the water quality of the new wells be ensured, whose depth (to date 120 meters) foretells the eventual presence of fossil minerals such as fluoride and arsenic, and whose contiguity with the Allende Dam makes the infiltration of residues of domestic, animal or agro-industrial origen present in the dam? And how could an efficient treatment system for substances so diverse and difficult to remove be installed and maintained?

What would be the real cost of such a “waterworks”, which includes the drilling of eight wells, the extraction mechanism, the continuous operation of powerful pumps to go up more than 200 meters high towards the city, the laying of several kilometers of collectors, the construction of storage tanks, as well as the treatment system that ensures water for human consumption?

Considering that groundwater and the Allende dam are under strict federal jurisdiction, are there permits from CONAGUA to SAPASMA or to the municipality to drill new wells in said area? Is there a mandatory environmental impact statement (MIA) approved by SEMARNAT?

Does the drilling project have the consent of the communal authorities of San Marcos and Cabras Juan Xido, whose wells are neighboring the projected drilling area?

And finally, what is the quality and water supply capacity of the wells in the upper sub-basin of San Miguel, and what is the depletion degree that was disclosed by SAPASMA’s manager during the public presentation at the City Council?

In an exercise of the constitutional right to information, it would be healthy for SAPASMA to clear out these questions in some way. Citizens deserve such answers.