Tamaulipas Invested US$82 Million in Water Infrastructure

Amid a water shortage crisis in northern Mexico, the governor of Tamaulipas, Francisco García stated that his administration has ensured an adequate drinking water supply for families and industries by spending over US$82 million on water infrastructure projects, which will guarantee access for at least a decade. 

During the inauguration of the El Nacimiento aqueduct, García acknowledged the work done by his administration. He highlighted that the works consisted of the construction, upgrading and maintenance of water infrastructure. "We made [the investment] in the El Camalote estuary to solve a water-related problem in the Tampico area. In the same way, we will launch water infrastructure projects in downtown Tampico," García added. 

García said that all of Reynosa’s water pumps and the Reynosa aqueduct were restored to full capacity, as was the aqueduct in the Mante municipality. The El Nacimiento aqueduct required more resources: with an investment of over US$12 million, it will benefit the inhabitants of El Quintero, El Limon and Altamirano, as well as inhabitants of the municipal capital. García added that these works will assure the water supply for El Mante and nearby communities until 2035.

Northern Mexico is experiencing a large-scale water crisis, with most of its territory reporting droughts. According to CONAGUA’s Heat Map, over 70 percent of Tamaulipas’ territory reported a certain grade of drought. June 2022 numbers showed that 30 of 43 municipalities suffered from droughts at different levels. Four of them were considered unusually dry, 18 experienced moderate drought and 12 reported severe levels of drought.

Tamaulipas’ nine dams started July 2022 with only 33 percent of their capacity operational, according to CONAGUA, 6.5 percent less than in May of this year. Currently, Tamaulipas has over 2,684hm³ of water, with a total capacity of 7,600hm³ .

The government of Tamaulipas proposed to transfer some water to Nuevo Leon, which is facing a more severe water crisis, but the state’s private sector protested the move and urged the state government to assure water supply for the local industry. “First of all, we need to assure the local water supply. CONAGUA has to conduct a study in this regard. We know the difficult situation Nuevo Leon is in, but we do not have to pay for it, we need to be safe before thinking of transferring water,” said Pédro Sánchez, President, National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO) Tamaulipas.