Yucatán Peninsula Faces Water Crisis as Concessions Outpace Availability

In just eight years, 3 billion cubic meters of water concessions have been granted in the Yucatán Peninsula. If this trend continues, available water resources will be overallocated within two years, potentially increasing human use and consumption costs, according to Alejandro López Tamayo, general director of Centinelas de Agua, or Water Sentinels in English.

López Tamayo, a recipient of the 2020 Ecological Merit Award from the Mexican government, discussed the issue during the panel discussion “The Air We Breathe and the Water We Consume” at the second edition of the Biosphere Summit.

López Tamayo shared that in 2015, the available water from the aquifer for licensing was 5 billion cubic meters. “In 2023, the latest data from Conagua (the National Water Commission) shows a 2 billion cubic meters decrease. This signifies that 3 billion cubic meters were granted in just eight years,” he explained.

With the anticipated development in the Yucatán Peninsula, the remaining 2 billion cubic meters of water may be fully allocated within two years.

“We are witnessing a trend that has not been acknowledged or discussed… While much attention has been given to water quality, the focus on volume has been lacking. This poses a significant challenge because when the available water for concessions is depleted, overallocation will occur, leading to increased costs for accessing water for economic activities and, most importantly, for human use and consumption,” López Tamayo warned.

He highlighted that the Peninsula’s aquifer and water resources also face challenges related to infrastructure capacity and sanitation in sustaining the growing population and meeting the expected economic development in the coming decades.

In Quintana Roo, for example, the annual population growth rate significantly exceeds the investment in drainage and sanitation infrastructure. “This means untreated wastewater enters the groundwater, cenotes, caves, and caverns,” López Tamayo explained.

He asserted that high contamination levels were found in 95% of Centinelas’ 300 water monitoring sites.

“Once an aquifer is contaminated, remediation is extremely difficult, underscoring the importance of investing in prevention rather than remediation,” he said.

During the summit, Alberto Barrera, an air quality expert from the Mario Molina Center, addressed air quality concerns and the lack of awareness regarding their exposure levels in many areas.

“One of the primary challenges is establishing infrastructure for measurement and conducting comprehensive inventories,” Barrera said.