New Water Plant in Durango to Provide Clean Water to Thousands

Limited access to clean drinking water is affecting numerous regions in Mexico. To address this problem, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), through the National Water Commission (CONAGUA), partnered with the Government of Durango to build the Durango Drinking Water Plant, aiming to provide clean water to the region's inhabitants. The water treatment plant will allow for the replacement of underground sources contaminated with fluoride and arsenic.

The agreement, published in the Official Gazette (DOF), aims to combine resources and efforts to build the Durango Drinking Water Plant, which promises to benefit about 600,000 residents by providing access to clean water while replacing contaminated water sources that have plagued the region.

The project will include intake works at the Guadalupe Victoria dam to use 27 million m3 per year of water, which will be pumped to the treatment plant, according to Proyectos de México. The project will include a pumping station able to process 2,750L/s and equipped with six centrifugal pumps to transport water through a pressurized pipeline to the treatment plant. The plant is expected to involve an investment of about US$55.3 million.

The plant will also have two modules (each with a capacity of 550L/s), a water quality laboratory, a motor control center, and a maintenance building. The project also involves the construction of an  intake structure at the Guadalupe Victoria Dam on the Tunal River, a pumping station, and 10.4km of high-pressure conduits. It also involves the completion of the gravity aqueduct, as well as access roads to the water treatment plant.

CONAGUA will secure budgetary resources, provide technical support, and facilitate training for the operation of the water plant. Meanwhile, the Government of Durango will provide technical documentation, obtain necessary permits, resolve land tenure issues, and indemnify CONAGUA against legal disputes that may arise during the project's implementation.

Upon completion of the Durango Drinking Water Plant, the infrastructure will be transferred to the state. To facilitate ongoing collaboration and ensure the project's sustainability, officials from CONAGUA and the Government of Durango will serve as liaisons. The agreement is set to be effective upon signing and will remain in force until Sept. 30, 2024. 

Germán Martínez, Director General, CONAGUA, previously underscored that the project aligns with the government's commitment to address water-related challenges inherited from previous administrations.

MBN had previously reported that efforts to promote hydraulic projects were in the making. In Durango, the Agua Saludable para La Laguna aqueduct will replace water from wells with a high concentration of arsenic with surface sources, using 200 million m3 of water from the Nazas River to benefit 1.6 million inhabitants in five municipalities in Coahuila and four in Durango. To date, 27.4% of the project has been completed. The total investment amounts to US$877 million and 35.7 % of the budget has been used.