- Title: MEXICO: Mexico City battles water crisis with taxes, please
- Date: 9th January 2010
- Summary: VALLE DE BRAVO, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) LAKE AVANDARO / BOATS INDIGENOUS WOMEN WORKING ON HANDICRAFTS DUCK MOISES VELASCO, WHO OFFERS RIDES ON BOAT TOWN SEEN FROM MOVING BOAT ON LAKE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MOISES VELASCO, WHO OFFERS RIDES ON BOAT IN VALLE DE BRAVO, SAYING: "It's a problem for us because we have no tourism. People in Valle (de Bravo) make a living from tourism. They don't come to see an empty lake. Right now, it's recovered a bit though." TOWN SEEN FROM MOVING BOAT ON LAKE RESIDENTS WALKING IN TOWN GENERAL VIEW OF TOWN LOS BERROS, STATE OF MEXICO, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) WATER PLANT WORKER TAKING ON WALKIE-TALKIE AT WATER PLANT VARIOUS OF WATER PLANT WORKERS AT WATER PLANT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED WATER PLANT WORKER, SAYING: "Rainy seasons in recent years have been scarce. That is reflected in the volume of our dams." SIGN THAT READS: "CHLORINE PLANT" MORE OF WATER PLANT MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF CITY TRAFFIC VARIOUS OF WATER TRUCK BEING FILLED UP WITH WATER WATER TRUCK LEAVING WATER TANK BEING FILLED UP WITH WATER WOMAN NEXT TO TAP WATER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) IZTAPALAPA RESIDENT MARIA MARIN, SAYING: "It's always the same because we never have water. If it arrives, it'll be sent for one day, two at the most, but it's dirty. The water is yellow." VARIOUS OF DIRT SEEN AT BOTTOM OF WATER BUCKET WOMAN WATERING DRY PLANTS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) IZTAPALAPA RESIDENT SABINA BARRAGAN, SAYING: "The tap water we get is yellow, yellow, brownish in colour. Just imagine. We can't use it... We have to put up with this because we have no other option." BROWNISH WATER SEEN IN BUCKET VARIOUS OF RAMON AGUIRRE, DIRECTOR OF MEXICO CITY'S WATER DEPARTMENT, WORKING AT DESK (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RAMON AGUIRRE, DIRECTOR OF MEXICO CITY'S WATER DEPARTMENT, SAYING: "We think the theme of tariffs should be one that would help us to encourage people to look more after the water. Manage to decrease by 10 - 15 percent (demand). The goal I have, working in water systems, is to decrease demand by 20 percent during the following months. In the medium and long term we have to drop it by 30 percent in the city but for the time being, in order to better confront this shortage, we simply have to change certain habits and decrease by 20 percent which is not such a complicated situation." VARIOUS OF WOMAN WASHING UP DISHES IN SINK MORE OF CITY
- Embargoed: 24th January 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Finance
- Reuters ID: LVADGPUG7YBJ9466J2OE8Q5U3UPC
- Story Text: Lake Avandaro has long been the emblem of leisure in this wealthy, colonial town west of Mexico City, but the capital sucked it half-dry last spring.
Ever thirstier, Mexico City diverted tonnes of water from the lake to the capital, putting the quaint village of Valle de Bravo in jeopardy as a popular weekend vacation spot for the rich.
Water skiers and boaters had to dodge emerging rocks as the lake level dropped to half its normal volume.
"It's a problem for us because we have no tourism. People in Valle (de Bravo) make a living from tourism. They don't come to see an empty lake. Right now, it's recovered a bit though," said Moises Velasco, who offers rides on boat in Valle de Bravo.
Mexico City, one of the world's biggest cities at 20 million people, has long struggled with a lack of water but the crisis worsened last year due to drought that has left reservoirs at record lows.
Water authorities increasingly turned to Lake Avandaro, nestled in a picturesque wooded area, to satisfy demand. Outrage from wealthy residents halted the worst of the draining and a deal was eventually reached to keep the lake level at 75 percent.
An unidentified worker at the Berros Water Plant in the state of Mexico, on the outskirts of Mexico City, blamed low rainfall for the shortages.
"Rainy seasons in recent years have been scarce. That is reflected in the volume of our dams."
Mexico City lawmakers in December agreed to increase water tariffs for all users in 2010 and cut generous subsidies, but that hard-fought change may not be enough.
Sudden cuts in the water supply are frequent and many residents know their water by the color it leaves the spout.
"It's always the same because we never have water. If it arrives, it'll be sent for one day, two at the most, but it's dirty. The water is yellow," said Maria Marin, who lives in a modest house in the poor Iztapalapa neighborhood.
"The tap water we get is yellow, yellow, brownish in colour. Just imagine. We can't use it... We have to put up with this because we have no other option," added Sabina Barragan.
Some families have long made allowances for poor service by having drinking water delivered in 20-liter (5.28 gallon) jugs while the liquid that comes from the pipes is only fit for houseplants, they said.
Mexico City's wealthiest residents will pay more than three times as much for their water service as the city's poorest under the new tax structure. Annual water costs for a wealthy family still should not top 515 pesos ($40) a year, local media reports.
The new tax structure will eliminate "ridiculously low" levies and represents a first step to creating a self-sustaining system, said Ramon Aguirre, director of Mexico City's water department.
"We think the theme of tariffs should be one that would help us to encourage people to look more after the water. Manage to decrease by 10 - 15 percent (demand). The goal I have, working in water systems, is to decrease demand by 20 percent during the following months. In the medium and long term we have to drop it by 30 percent in the city but for the time being, in order to better confront this shortage, we simply have to change certain habits and decrease by 20 percent which is not such a complicated situation," Aguirre said.
Yet despite the higher levies, water is still relatively cheap compared to other capital cities around the world. Wealthier Mexico City residents use as much as 300 liters of water per day, half again the rate set by residents in European capitals.
Leaks and theft mean nearly 40 percent of Mexico City water is lost before it reaches the tap and only half of what is left is metered. Officials are in a desperate battle to serve the 20 million residents and the business community at a time of declining rainfall.
A huge lake system that once covered Mexico City's vast urban plain and nurtured a vibrant Aztec civilization has long vanished due to explosive population growth and inordinate water use.
The nearest aquifers are depleted, prompting buildings downtown to sink slowly. Meanwhile, engineers are trying to tap distant waterways.
Officials limited water service to many Mexico City neighborhoods last spring in the face of a dry spell not seen in nearly 70 years. New tariffs and a public awareness campaign should help curtail demand so that such drastic steps are not needed this year, said Aguirre.
Ironically, the capital often suffers from a deluge of water. In the summer rainy season, downpours hit the city almost nightly for several months. But much of the rain is not captured and inadequate drainage means that the city often chokes. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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