Mexico Advances Alto Atoyac Restoration Plan

Mexico’s Environment Ministry and CONAGUA are accelerating restoration of the Alto Atoyac and Lerma–Santiago river basins through expanded wastewater treatment, monitoring infrastructure and industrial oversight, backed by over MX$1 billion in federal funding for 2026. The program, spanning multiple states and 245 municipalities, strengthens regulatory enforcement on industrial discharges while advancing eco-hydrological planning, flood control and community-based restoration. The initiative raises compliance expectations for manufacturing and water-intensive industries and signals tighter environmental governance and infrastructure investment across central and western Mexico.

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Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Alicia Bárcena and Efraín Morales López, director general, National Water Commission (CONAGUA), led a meeting with federal agencies to review progress on restoration works in the Alto Atoyac basin. The basin, which spans the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, is part of a national river sanitation campaign included among the 100 commitments of President Claudia Sheinbaum.

During the meeting, Bárcena said remediation efforts in the Atoyac, Lerma-Santiago, and Tula river systems integrate infrastructure, sanitation, and environmental restoration measures while strengthening coordination between federal institutions and local communities. Authorities have structured the Alto Atoyac strategy around four priorities: wastewater treatment, riparian ecosystem restoration, community participation and coordination, and monitoring and evaluation to support decision-making.

For 2026, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and its affiliated agencies — including CONAGUA, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR), the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), the Agency for Safety, Energy and Environment (ASEA), the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), and the Mexican Institute of Water Technology (IMTA) — will implement key projects in coordination with state and municipal authorities.

Restoration works will complete Phase I and advance Phase II interventions in both states. Projects include the construction of complementary works for a riverside park and sports complex linked to the Tlaxco wastewater treatment plant in Tlaxcala. Authorities will also carry out reengineering works at three treatment plants in San Antonio Huexotitla, La Herradura, and San Antonio Chapultepec, and build a new treatment facility in Cuamatzingo, in the municipality of San Lucas Tecopilco.

Additional measures include the construction of 11 treatment systems in Atlangatepec; installation of equipment for a surveillance center and three automatic water quality monitoring stations in Atlangatepec, Tlaxcala, and Yauhquemehcan; deployment of seven automatic flow monitoring stations; installation of two additional water quality monitoring stations in San Martín Texmelucan and Huejotzingo, Puebla; and water quality sampling at 100 sites across the basin. Authorities also plan to conduct an inspection campaign targeting industrial facilities.

Mariana Boy Tamborrell, head, PROFEPA, said the agency maintains ongoing engagement with the industrial sector in the basin, focusing on facilities with the greatest environmental impact. Oversight combines inspection and enforcement actions with preventive guidance to ensure compliance with wastewater discharge, waste management, and air emissions regulations.

Mexico to Allocate Over MX$1 Billion to River Restoration in 2026

In January, SEMARNAT and CONAGUA announced that more than MX$1.03 billion (US$75.7 million) will be allocated in 2026 for the recovery of the Lerma–Santiago River. The basin covers more than 6 million hectares and includes 245 municipalities across the states of Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Jalisco, State of Mexico, Queretaro, Michoacan, Zacatecas, Nayarit, and Durango.

According to authorities, this year’s investments will focus on expanding wastewater treatment capacity, strengthening inspection and enforcement actions, consolidating socio-environmental restoration projects, developing eco-hydrological master plans, implementing flood-control works, and improving the monitoring of water quality and quantity across the basin.

In January, Claudia Gómez, general coordinator of the Lerma–Santiago River Restoration and Sanitation Project, together with members of community organizations from municipalities in the State of Mexico and state authorities, toured key points along the Lerma River to assess the current condition of the waterway.

Julián Martínez, president, Upper Lerma Communities Organization (COMALAC), said the purpose of the visit was to ensure that authorities at the three levels of government identify critical points that emerge during the rainy season and lead to river overflows, allowing preventive measures to be implemented to protect nearby communities.

Gómez noted that engagement with civil society organizations helps refine proposals and define the strategies to be implemented in the region. She also announced that construction of several projects in the upper basin would begin in late February and early March in municipalities such as Almoloya de Juárez, Texcalyacac, and Ocoyoacac, including the development of an eco-hydrological park.

In 2025, more than MX$408 million were allocated to wastewater treatment infrastructure, ecological restoration, discharge control, and flood protection. During this period, a governance framework was consolidated with the participation of more than 80 institutions across the three levels of government, and agreements were signed with 18 municipalities along the Santiago River to protect federal land.