The situation is complicated, and the worst stage of the dry season has not yet begun.
The 24 dams in Jalisco, on average, do not even have half the water they can store, which includes the main supply sources for the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, such as the Calderón dam and Lake Chapala, which are at 33 and 45 percent of their capacity, respectively. The scenario is complicated, and the worst stage of the dry season has not yet begun. Native merchants of Chapala told EL OCCIDENTAL that they have seen a drop in the level of Lake Chapala for the past 2 to 3 months.
“We insist on bringing water from very distant areas; instead, we should think about closer sources and the rational use of water through policies, as we citizens waste an exorbitant amount of water on senseless things,” explained Professor Hermes Ulises Ramírez Sánchez from the Department of Physics at the University Center for Exact Sciences and Engineering (CUCEI).
“The pipeline network dates back 50 years, and many are obsolete, saturated, and have leaks. It is estimated that 40 percent of the water that arrives is wasted due to these leaks, and the government must take responsibility for investing in this.”
The last one integrated into the network was the Zapotillo dam, but today, almost 15 years after its construction began and was delayed due to various discussions, it is empty. In recent years, Jalisco went from 19 to 24 dams that are meant to store 10,754.090 cubic hectometers, but only have 5,595.941 cubic hectometers of water.
That is, less than the Metropolitan Area has two main sources for supply, in addition to its wells, which are Lake Chapala, facing the worst stage of the dry season at 50 percent of its capacity, and the Calderón dam at 30 percent of its capacity, double what it was during the crisis of 2021. Regarding Chapala, it is at 45 percent capacity, which puts Jalisco in scenarios similar to two other major cities in the country: Mexico City and Monterrey.
As for the Calderón Dam, it is a dam that supplies about 11 percent of the city and during the dry season of 2021 ceased to operate due to the low levels recorded, falling by 18 percent, which resulted in cuts to the potable water supply and water rationing for more than 240,000 inhabitants of the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara.
Dirty and with Bad Odors
Tourists from Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos who had not visited Lake Chapala for some time, in an interview with EL OCCIDENTAL, said: “we see it dirty; it looks low in its capacity, tourists keep coming. We haven’t come for four to five years, and the last time was when the water overflowed from the lake, and today we see it dirty, with unpleasant odors. We don’t feel like coming while it’s like this.”
A native of Chapala, a dessert merchant for 14 years, said that the Lake is deteriorating, “the water is running out, it is very polluted and gives off a stench like a sewer, the storm drains and sewers flow into the lake, informal food stalls throw waste, the lower its level the water looks greenish and stinky.”
Source: El Occidental
