The SMN, part of the National Water Commission (Conagua), reported that average accumulated rainfall across Mexico in June was 155.5 millimeters (6.12 inches).

That is the highest average national total for any month since Conagua began recording monthly rainfall totals in 1941. Last month superseded June of 2024 as the rainiest month on record in Mexico.

In contrast, June of 2023 was an extremely dry month, with an average accumulated national rainfall of just 39.2 millimeters, 60.7% below the average precipitation in the month of June between 1991 and 2020.

The national rainfall total in June this year was 55.7 millimeters, or 55.8%, higher than the average over that three-decade period.

Rain brought by Hurricane Erick, which made landfall in Oaxaca last month, and other storms, contributed to the high levels of precipitation in Mexico in June.

Jalisco and Guanajuato area water reservoirs rebound after heavy rains

The day Erick made landfall — June 18 — was the rainiest day in Mexico in June.

The rain last month helped to replenish many of Mexico’s most important reservoirs.

Mexico’s rainiest and driest states in June 

According to the SMN data, the five states that recorded the highest rainfall totals in June were:

• Morelos: 466 millimeters
• Chiapas: 422.3 mm
• Veracruz: 389.8 mm
• Colima: 389.3 mm
• Guerrero: 347.5 mm

The states with the lowest rainfall totals in June were:

• Baja California Sur: 3.5 mm
• Baja California: 5.4 mm
• Coahuila: 28.3 mm
• Sonora: 34.5 mm
• Nuevo León: 64.9 mm

Those five states are all located in the north of Mexico, where drought remains a problem.

With reports from El Heraldo de México, Infobae and Meteored  

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According to the National Water Commission’s Technical Operations Committee, 80 of the nation’s top 210 dams were at less than 50% capacity, 27 were at 100% capacity, 44 others were at 75% or above and 59 were found to be between 50-75% full as of July 14.

The Cutzamala System — the large-scale water transfer system that supplies greater Mexico City — held 457.8 million cubic meters of water as of July 21, or 58.5% of capacity, up from 56.4% a week earlier.

Total volume at the Cutzamala’s top reservoirs — Valle de Bravo, El Bosque and Villa Victoria — has doubled since last summer, when an extended drought prompted media reports about a potential Day Zero in Mexico City.

Lake Chapala, the primary source of water for the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, saw its surface level rise 30 centimeters through the first week of July and is currently at 54.63% of its capacity — a 14.6 percentage-point improvement over July 21, 2024.

Despite this week’s positive data, the committee cautioned that current water volumes are still 2.19 billion cubic meters below the historic average for July of 62.04 billion cubic meters. That’s a deficit of 4%.

Rainy season replenishes Guanajuato’s water supply

Another top beneficiary of the wet summer is the state of Guanajuato, where volume at its eight biggest dams nearly doubled since July 2024, reaching 71.6% capacity as of July 18.

According to state water agency officials, total volume at these eight reservoirs was at 1.261 billion cubic meters, up from 1.207 billion one week earlier. In 2024, their volume barely surpassed 700 million cubic meters, or approximately 29% of capacity. 

Four of the eight dams were operating at 100% capacity: three in Guanajuato city — La Mata, La Soledad and La Esperanza — and the El Palote in León. 

Another three — the Allende Dam in San Miguel de Allende, La Golondrina in Pénjamo and the El Realito in San Luis de La Paz — were above 80%.

However, the much-needed precipitation has not come without its problems. 

Guanajuato struggled with flooding after record rainfall in May, while Mexico City experienced severe flooding in early June.

With reports from La Jornada, Milenio and Zona Franca

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According to the latest official report from the National Water Commission (Conagua) and the Water Basin Authority of the Valley of Mexico (OCAVM), the Cutzamala System’s water level reached 56.44% of its total capacity on July 13, equivalent to 441.7 million cubic meters. 

This marks one of the highest levels recorded in recent years, significantly exceeding levels seen during Mexico’s dry season (November-May).

According to a report by the OCAVM, the Cutzamala System recovered 9.45 million cubic meters of water in the last seven days, replenishing the three dams that supply Mexico City: Valle de Bravo,70.4%; El Bosque, 42.8%; Villa Victoria, 41.7%.

The system’s water levels are a result of intense rainfall during the summer season, which has doubled or even tripled reservoir volumes compared to previous years. 

Early in June, the reservoirs were at around 48-52% of their capacity. The recent increase is primarily due to the cumulative effect of historic rainfall in the region.

¿Qué pasaría si el Sistema Lerma-Cutzamala hubiera llegado al día #DíaCero hoy? Esta infraestructura aporta el 43% del #agua que llega a la capital. Captación, almacenamiento, bombeo, purificación y distribución las 24h del año
Abrimos hilo #Cutzamala pic.twitter.com/TZ3qc7mEI4

— IslaUrbana (@IslaUrbana) June 26, 2024

Although these figures are encouraging, authorities will continue to carry out partial scheduled outages in several of Mexico City’s boroughs, including Iztapalapa, Álvaro Obregón, Tlalpan and Coyoacán, among others. 

The Cutzamala System captures, stores and distributes water from the upper basin of the Cutzamala River, located in Michoacán and México state. It consists of seven dams, six macro pumping plants, a water treatment plant and a 200-kilometer-long network of pipes and canals.  

At its peak, the system can provide between 30% and 40% of the drinking water consumed by the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (ZMVM), although this figure varies depending on hydrological and operating conditions. The rest of the city’s water is drawn from the groundwater aquifer, the Lerma System, and the Chalmita, Chiconautla and La Caldera systems.

With reports from La Razón and Excélsior and Telediario

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Much of Chagoya’s success to date has been through collaboration with other sectors of government, but also through his grassroots-minded initiatives, which directly involve residents. This has resulted in greater information-sharing with citizens and the strengthening of community relations.

Involving residents

Chagoya is focused on restoring Oaxaca’s identity as a heritage city by revitalizing the historic center and integrating conservation and maintenance teams. This includes an application for funds from the Association of Mexican World Heritage Cities. Key actions have included cleaning public areas with the involvement of residents, in community improvement events known as neighborhood tequios vecinales.

Tequios — an Indigenous word that embodies community values such as solidarity and teamwork — are groups of volunteers that are working with the government to plant trees, widen sidewalks and repair concrete and ironwork throughout the city.

Chagoya is particularly proud of the tequios’ success, which has gone a long way toward restoring areas in Oaxaca’s capital while at the same time bringing neighbors together.

Tackling Oaxaca city’s water issues

Chagoya has also been leading campaigns to dredge the city’s storm drains, essential work as Oaxaca’s rainy season arrives. 

The municipal government is doing its part by promoting drinking water and sanitation projects to ensure a sustainable supply and improve environmental conditions in Oaxaca de Juárez’s metropolitan area. This work coordinates efforts across various local government departments, with two key projects focused on water security, management and safety: Water for All and the Safe Rain Program. 

Chagoya said that water shortages in the city will not be solved by a single action but as a multistep plan that addresses issues with Oaxaca’s water sources — its rivers, reservoirs and wells. It also must deal with issues around water treatment, water distribution and, finally, water storage. Sewers must also be serviced during the rainy season to prevent flooding and further river contamination.

The Safe Rain Program includes preventive and immediate response actions to leaks and flooding in the city’s drainage system, in order to mitigate the rainy season’s effects on the capital. The priority is citizen safety.

Between this past June and November, monitoring of rain levels will be carried out throughout the city using a digital platform with an early warning system, coordinated with the regional meteorological radar and Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA). 

Water storage is a challenge, the mayor said, as space is limited and standing water poses a risk of harboring dengue-carrying mosquitoes. However, he has announced that studies are underway for the installation of rainwater harvesting systems, which he said will allow for the use of up to 56 million liters over the next three years.

So far, much of what has been visible in the media about efforts to address water shortages has been the donation of water tanks, known in Mexico as tinacos. The government has already delivered 3,500 water tanks to neighborhoods with the greatest water shortages. In addition, the government plans to install 36 new hydrants, 20 provided by the municipality and 16 by the state government. 

The wider, multifaceted water infrastructure plan underway seeks to strengthen the drinking water supply in strategic areas of the capital, with renovated infrastructure and increased operational capacity. This includes developing water treatment facilities, rehabilitating the city’s Trujano, Vincente Suárez and Candiani wells, developing complementary infrastructure such as an oscillation tower in Xoxocotlán to improve water pressure and providing water storage solutions via tinacos. 

Cleaning up the Atoyac River

Chagoya has highlighted the growing success of the wastewater treatment plant in San Juan Bautista La Raya, near Oaxaca International Airport, which will improve the water quality of the increasingly polluted Atoyac River, an essential water source that has been the subject of concern. There has also been collaboration with the Oaxaca state government to clean the river, and construction has started on the road alongside it.

In the heart of the city, where the Atoyac runs behind the Abastos municipal market, a major cleanup has been completed, which removed mountains of trash that were previously spilling down the banks.

Chagoya emphasizes the importance of collective awareness, of caring for water, not wasting it, and understanding that its scarcity is not just a technical problem but also a shared societal responsibility. He shared this sentiment in a recent social media post. 

“Water is life, it is health, and it is key to the sustainable development of our capital. Let’s reflect on its value and the responsibility we share to preserve it. Every drop counts. Every action contributes. Let’s continue building a more conscious, greener and more committed Oaxaca de Juárez,” he wrote.

The next few months will be telling about Chagoya’s government’s effectiveness at tackling these issues, since the rains in Oaxaca have only just begun. Chagoya also faces this month’s Guelaguetza festival, one of Oaxaca’s busiest seasons for cultural activities in the city.

These challenges will test the mayor’s primary goals — specifically maintaining community safety and cohesion while supporting a city that stays clean and healthy. 

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The 30 days between May 31 and June 29 constituted “quite a rainy period,” particularly along the Gulf of Mexico coast and in the south and southeast of the country, Alejandro Jair García Jiménez, an SMN official, reported on Tuesday.

During an SMN “informative session” broadcast online, he said that accumulated rainfall totaled 148.1 millimeters in the 30 days to June 29, 51.3% higher than the average for the same period between 1991 and 2020.

Rain brought by Hurricane Erick, which made landfall in Oaxaca last month, and other recent storms, contributed to the high levels of precipitation in Mexico in June. The rain helped ease drought conditions.

On June 15, the percentage of the country experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions was 37.5%, well below the 73.79% recorded on the same date in 2024.

García also reported that accumulated rainfall in Mexico between January 1 and June 29 was 10.9% higher than the annual average for the same period between 1991 and 2020.

He said that 233.9 millimeters of rain was recorded in the first six months of the year, 22.9 millimeters more than the average in recent decades.

CDMX records rainiest June since 1968 

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada reported earlier this week that accumulated rainfall in the capital in June amounted to 337 million cubic meters of water. That made last month the rainiest June in 57 years.

If 337 million cubic meters of water sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. That amount of water could fill up Mexico City’s cavernous Estadio Azteca (Aztec Stadium) 176 times, the Reforma newspaper reported.

Given the heavy rainfall — almost double the historic average for June in Mexico City — it’s no surprise that flooding in the capital was a problem last month.

Brugada attributed the immense precipitation to climate change and asserted that such rainfall can no longer be considered atypical.

Torrential rain was recorded in Mexico City on various days last month, including June 29, with 38 million cubic meters of water falling on the capital.

Reservoir levels up 24% compared to June 2024 

According to National Water Commission (Conagua) data, the largest 210 reservoirs in Mexico were collectively holding 56.9 million cubic meters of water at the end of June. That figure represents 45% of the maximum capacity of the reservoirs.

Compared to June 30, 2024, the quantity of water in the 210 principal reservoirs in Mexico was 24.4% higher. However, the 56.9 million cubic meters of water the reservoirs held at the end of June was 5.2% below the historical average.

The quantity of water in the reservoirs increased 3.4% between June 23 and June 30.

Data presented by Conagua official Daniel Arriaga Fuentes on Tuesday showed that 19 of Mexico’s 210 largest reservoirs were at full capacity at the end of June, up from just five at the same time last year.

Thirty-one reservoirs were at least 75% full, while 63 were 50%-75% full.

Almost half of the 210 principal reservoirs — 97 — were less than 50% full. While the high number is a concern, it is significantly lower than the 158 reservoirs that were less than 50% full a year ago.

A Conagua map shows that the reservoirs that are currently less than half full are concentrated in northern and central Mexico.

The reservoirs that make up the Cutzamala system, which supplies water to the Mexico City metropolitan area, were at 52% capacity at the end of June, up from just 26.7% a year earlier.

“Since May 25, the Cutzamala system has had contributions [of water from rainfall] and its storage is on the rise,” said Citlali Peraza Camacho, director of the Conagua department responsible for the Valley of Mexico water basin.

Water supply is a major concern in Mexico City, making the recent rain especially welcome, despite the flooding and other problems it has caused in the capital.

36 deaths attributed to recent rainfall

The newspaper La Jornada reported on Wednesday that there have been 36 deaths in Mexico related to rain since the rainy season began on May 15.

Citing data from state authorities, La Jornada said that 10 fatalities in the southern state of Oaxaca were related to heavy rainfall.

It also reported six rain-related fatalities in Guanajuato; five in Chihuahua; four in each of Jalisco and San Luis Potosí; three in Morelos; and one in each of Guerrero, Hidalgo, Tamaulipas and Colima.

A one-year-old baby boy died in a swollen river in the municipality of San Marcos, Guerrero, after Hurricane Erick made landfall in the neighboring state of Oaxaca on June 19.

La Jornada also reported that rainy and stormy conditions in recent weeks have damaged thousands of homes as well as hundreds of roads and bridges.

Oaxaca and Guerrero, which bore the brunt of Hurricane Erick, are the worst affected states, but flooding has also recently caused damage to homes in other states, including México state and Hidalgo.

With reports from Reforma, La Jornada, El Economista and Milenio   

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In the past 25 days, more than 220 million cubic meters of water have fallen on the capital, an unprecedented figure in the last 21 years, according to the Ministry of Water and Sustainable Management (Segiagua).

“We’re breaking a rainfall record. This June, which isn’t even over yet, already has the highest rainfall recorded in the last 21 years, and that record may be broken [by the end of the month],” José Mario Esparza, head of the Segiagua, said at a press conference. 

Officials added that no serious damage has been reported thanks to the proper functioning of the deep drainage system. However, trash obstructing hydraulic infrastructure is an ongoing problem in the capital. 

This month’s heavy rains are due to a combination of meteorological factors, including the El Niño weather phenomenon, which increased the number and intensity of tropical cyclones in the Pacific and Atlantic, raising the probability of rainfall above the historical average.

Near-constant rainfall has impacted almost every state during June, with particular severity in Mexico City, where flooding, fallen trees and road damage have been reported following major deluges on June 2, 16 and 22. In Jalisco, all regions exceeded the normal statistical averages for June precipitation. Other impacted states include Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Nayarit, Michoacán, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Puebla, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

La #lluvia de esta tarde dejó #encharcamientos sobre los carriles centrales de Ignacio Zaragoza a la altura de la colonia Federal en la @A_VCarranza

El gobierno de la capital activó alerta amarilla por presencia de lluvias en las 16 alcaldías de la #CDMX.

: Luis Alfaro pic.twitter.com/eXuWk2wfXi

— POSTA CDMX (@POSTACDMX) June 24, 2025

Authorities have issued alerts for flooding, landslides and rising rivers, recommending that the population take precautions and stay informed about the possibility of continued rain in the coming weeks.

Nationwide, June 2024 was the rainiest month in Mexico since 1941, per the National Water Commission (Conagua). The average of 148.7 millimeters of rain recorded throughout the country one year ago represented 49% more than the usual rainfall total for this time of year (99.8 mm).  

In Mexico City, a total of 154.4 mm of rain would be considered normal for the month of June 2025, according to Conagua. With only five days left in June, we will soon see how much rainfall Mexico City has accumulated.  

With reports from Record and El Financiero

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Grupo Pinsa signed an agreement with the National Forestry Commission (Conafor) and the community of La Noria on Friday to fund the protection of 1,375 hectares of forest in the upper Presidio River Basin, east of Mazatlán, for five years.

Head of Conafor Joanna Acosta Velázquez, representatives of the La Noria Community Assembly and Grupo Pinsa representatives Javier Humarán and Bernabé Herrera participated in the contract signing.  

The replenishment of the water body is equivalent to the annual volume of water used by the company, and the move makes it the first company in Mexico to offset its total water footprint through watershed conservation.

“This agreement reflects our real and tangible commitment to the environment. It’s not just about compensating, but also about regenerating and protecting the sources of life we ​​share with the communities,” said Grupo Pinsa’s CEO Víctor Manuel Ledón Lizárraga.

Grupo Pinsa was established over 30 years ago and is a major producer of canned tuna and sardines, with over 100 products under the Dolores, Mazatún and El Dorado brands, sold in Mexico, the United States and Europe. It is Sinaloa’s largest employer, contributing over 6,000 direct jobs.

The conservation strategy was approved as part of the Local Payment Mechanism for Environmental Services with Concurrent Funds (MLPSA FC) and is the largest MLPSA FC agreement approved in Sinaloa so far this year. 

The water conservation organization Conselva, Costas y Comunidades, helped identify Grupo Pinsa’s offset needs using hydrological models and will serve as a technical advisor for the program. 

The agreement “represents a model of water co-responsibility, in which the public, private and social sectors collaborate to address the water crisis with concrete, science-based actions,” the organization wrote on its Facebook page on Tuesday. 

“The community of La Noria will be a direct beneficiary of the mechanism, receiving payments for conserving its territory and participating in activities such as reforestation, soil restoration, community surveillance and fire brigades. These actions are also expected to contribute to increasing water production in the micro-basin, positively impacting water availability for Mazatlán.”

Availability of surface water in the Presidio River has decreased by 56.6% in the last 13 years, while its aquifer has an annual deficit of 22.10 cubic hectometers, making it one of Sinaloa’s most overexploited bodies of water, according to official data.

The worsening water situation is due to deforestation, uncontrolled urban and agricultural growth, irregular extraction and the effects of climate change. 

The recent agreement with Pinsa “is the result of more than a decade of technical and community work in the Presidio River basin,” said Executive Director of Conselva Sandra Guido Sánchez.

“It demonstrates that it is possible to build local solutions to a global crisis when the private sector assumes its shared environmental responsibility.”

With reports from Revista Espejo and Periódico Noroeste

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May 15 marked the beginning of the rainy season, which, after one month, has reduced the area of Mexico affected by abnormally dry or drought-level conditions from 67.8% to 54.4%.

Drought in Mexico is measured on a scale of D0 — abnormally dry — to D4 — extreme drought. As of June 15, the percentage of the country experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions fell to 37.5%, well below the 73.79% recorded on the same date in 2024. 

The widespread above-average rainfall was driven by various meteorological phenomena, according to Conagua, including the passage of two tropical waves and low-pressure troughs. The circulation and cloud formations of Tropical Storm Dalila brought heavy rainfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast (Hurricane Erick made landfall following the publication of the most recent Conagua report).

Extreme and exceptional drought (D3 and D4) also decreased in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, while moderate drought (D1) and abnormally dry conditions (D0) subsided in western, central and southern Mexico. 

Only the north, northeast and southeast, including the Yucatán Peninsula, saw an increase in abnormally dry conditions due to a heatwave early in the month.

The June 15 Conagua report showed that 16.9% of the country was abnormally dry (D0), 10.7% was experiencing moderate drought (D1), 8.1% severe drought (D2), 11.8% extreme drought (D3) and 6.9% exceptional drought (D4). 

With reports from Excelsior

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Coca-Cola receives an incredible amount of positive attention and market reinforcement, actually, given the amount of harm they do.

I mean, there’s quite a bit to say about it negatively. It’s bad for us, which we all know: bad for our teeth, bad for our bodies. It’s too big: You’ve got at least a 50% chance that the drink you buy at a tiendita is made by the Coca-Cola company. It’s also, as we know, a big, big consumer of natural resources, particularly water.

Coca-Cola is a favorite worldwide villain. “The dark waters of imperialism,” some say. So it’s nice to see that they’re at least putting on a show of behaving.

Honestly, I have my doubts, unless the government truly does stay on top of them. I’m sure the government’s intentions are to do just that, but you’ve got to admit, there’s always a lot of competition for our top officials’ attention.

Still, I’ll concede to Coca-Cola that they have done some good things to make up for, well, their existence in the first place. According to the article cited above, it’s helped establish water collection systems in over 700 schools, for example.

Well, good. We’ve certainly all given them enough money to get all kinds of infrastructure off the ground. But the company’s number one priority is not to “do good.” It’s to make money and stay in business — to keep making more money — which is the purpose of any company.

And this company’s profits depend directly on its access to natural resources.

Now, before we go on, a disclaimer: I’ve had many an angry commenter at this paper accuse me of being a socialist. And I am! I claim it. My lifetime has been one gigantic museum of the results when guardrails meant to keep people safe from unbridled capitalism are removed.

Pay a living wage? Ha! Benefits? Pensions? Triple ha! Getting corporations to protect the natural environment they rely on extracting from to make a profit is even more laughable. And believe me, you haven’t felt power until you’ve threatened a major company’s ability to make money.

Remember that Joni Mitchell song? “They took all the trees / and put ’em in a tree museum / Then they charged the people / a dollar and a half just to see ’em.” For companies like Coca-Cola, privatizing access to natural resources and then selling it back to us mixed with delicious, addictive poison is literally their business model.

And oh God, are we addicted. Mexicans love Coke. I love Coke. It’s like an abusive boyfriend I can’t stay away from. None of us can, actually: Mexico has the highest per-capita average consumption in the world at a whopping 160 liters per year! Being saved from ourselves is literally the only way at this point.

MLK Jr. was right: “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

In other words, the powers that be don’t spontaneously decide to behave; they have to be forced.

I was heartened to read about, then, the National Water Plan, which aims to do precisely that. Among the actions are:

• A review of the water concessions (rights to specific sources of water) with the aim of taking back what’s not being used. For a truly chilling look at how much water private corporations use in Mexico City, have a look here.
• An inspection program to help detect “illegal, improper, and wasteful” use of water. Honestly, I’m not sure how this part is going to work. Will going to authorities be more effective than all the other times one might go to the authorities? But, hey, I’m prepared to be surprised.
• Changing the law to ensure that water concessions can’t be sold. “You are not allowed to make this water that’s for everyone into a business” seems pretty fair to me.
• New irrigation technology to ensure that the vast amount of water needed for agriculture is used as intelligently as possible.
• Infrastructure projects like dams and aqueducts. If they’d asked me, I’d have said “Plus, let’s have government subsidies for all housing units in the country to install water catchment systems, please, please, please!” They haven’t asked me, but I’m ready if they do.
• Cleanup initiatives, with special focus on the water supplies we have now that could use a good scrubbing.

One of the things I love about Mexico is that it’s not afraid to make institutions that exist solely to make a profit mad. It begins on principle and goes from there.

It starts at the most basic values: “Should our most precious resource, which rains from the sky, only belong to those who pay for it?”

Obviously, the answer is no. Water is a human right, period.

It grows from there. “Are there any parties taking more than their fair share of water, leaving others without?” Oh, yes.

So, good for Claudia for bringing this issue to the forefront.

If there’s anything that you shouldn’t have to have money to get, it’s water. What will they want to start charging for next — air?

That’s a joke, but I feel pretty certain that if it were possible, someone would do it.

In the meantime, I think we’re off to a good start. In this crazy world, it heartens me to see some governments acting logically and for the greater good rather than the greater profit.

And while Coca-Cola might be evil, it’s not dumb; it knows that its choices in one of its biggest markets on earth is to either play by our rules or not play at all.

I’m glad we’re forcing them to behave — kind of.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com.

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In the Upper Laja River Basin, home to more than 740,000 people across seven municipalities, deeper wells and worsening contamination have become the norm — bringing mounting health risks and growing public concern. Those concerns were front and center last Thursday when the mayor of San Diego de la Unión, a community north of San Miguel de Allende, confronted the crisis head-on.

“When we open the tap, we are poisoning ourselves.”

With those words, Mayor Juan Carlos Castillo Cantero of San Diego de la Unión opened a press conference that may prove to be a turning point for his municipality — and potentially for the entire Upper Laja River Basin, in the northeast of Guanajuato state. The event marked a rare and striking moment of transparency in local government, as the mayor laid bare the extent of water contamination affecting San Diego de la Unión and the surrounding communities.

The issue is neither new nor isolated. Across the basin, aquifers are being overdrawn and contaminated, pushing entire municipalities toward a full-scale public health crisis. Water quality monitoring conducted between April and July 2024 found that 20 of the 23 rural wells tested in San Diego de la Unión were unsafe for daily use. These wells supply water to 59 rural communities. Eleven wells exceeded Mexico’s legal limit for arsenic, and nineteen for fluoride — both contaminants linked to serious long-term health problems. The findings violate national regulations and international health guidelines.

“This isn’t just about water,” said Dylan Terrell, Executive Director of the NGO Caminos de Agua. “It’s about systemic health deterioration — kidney failure, dental and crippling skeletal fluorosis, cognitive issues in children. And it’s all invisible until it’s too late.”

Caminos de Agua’s Alvaro Gutiérrez Berra, who oversees water monitoring, emphasized the risks. “There’s no such thing as a safe level of arsenic. Even small amounts accumulate. The well at Ex-Hacienda de Jesús tested at nearly five times the legal limit.” In San José del Charco, fluoride measured 4.08 mg/L, more than four times the legal standard. Across the municipality, 59 out of 71 communities are now confirmed to have unsafe water.

“This is a ticking time bomb,” the mayor warned. “If we don’t act now, there won’t be enough resources to care for so many sick people. No government or family can bear the cost of a kidney disease epidemic.” A single hemodialysis session can cost up to 1,500 pesos, with patients requiring multiple treatments weekly, costs far beyond the reach of most rural families.

Breaking the silence

Public health risks related to water infrastructure are often downplayed or left for civil society groups to highlight. That’s why Mayor Castillo Cantero’s direct language was so striking — and for many, overdue. “The alarms are sounding—whether we want to see them or not,” he said. “We can’t keep ignoring them. We must act now—for our health, for our children, for future generations.”

Gudelia Trejo’s community of Pozo Ademado had excessive levels of fluoride and arsenic until they began building rainwater harvesting systems. “I started to feel relief from all the pain because I was one of many people who used to survive on painkillers. Rainwater harvesting was something new for us, a very beautiful thing. A breath of life,” said Trejo.

Community-driven responses

Despite the grim data, the mood wasn’t hopeless. Castillo Cantero emphasized that action is already underway.

The municipality, in partnership with Caminos de Agua and grassroots organizations SECOPA and COENLAVIS, has installed over 490 rainwater harvesting systems (SCALLs) since 2021 and is currently working to build an additional 140 this year. These systems include cisterns that collect and store clean, arsenic- and fluoride-free rainwater and are combined with household water filters to make the water fit for human consumption. A properly used 5,000-liter cistern can supply a family of five with safe water for at least six months.

Reverse osmosis filters, which are effective against heavy metals, are also being deployed, though their cost and infrastructure needs make widespread distribution difficult.

“These contaminants can’t be boiled out,” said Gutiérrez Berra. “Common filters like carbon or UV don’t remove them. And bottled water is 100 times more expensive than municipal supply—and bad for the environment.”

María del Rosario, from the community of Los Ricos, helps take care of the groundwater treatment system there, a community-scale arsenic and fluoride water treatment plant designed by Caminos de Agua and their academic partners. “We had many years without safe drinking water, while taking care of the groundwater treatment system is hard work, it’s changed the reality of my family and community,” she said.

A regional issue demanding collective action

Mayor Castillo Cantero stressed that San Diego de la Unión cannot solve the crisis
alone. “This is a regional crisis,” he said. “We share an aquifer with seven other municipalities. If one of us fails to act, we all suffer.”

He urged neighboring mayors, state officials and federal agencies to coordinate efforts — and to revive initiatives like FONASA, a federal program that once funded rainwater harvesting systems and filters but has since been discontinued.

“We deeply regret the elimination of FONASA,” he said. “That initiative gave us a real chance to build household-level water security. Now we’re left raising awareness on our own—but awareness isn’t enough.”

“This isn’t something the government can solve alone. We need awareness, collaboration and pressure.”

That includes a cultural shift in how residents understand water risks.

The mayor said there has been a shift in priorities. He said that citizens often demand streetlights or paved roads because they don’t understand the invisible threat in their water, but once they do, they start asking for cisterns and filtration systems.

The future at stake

In his closing remarks, Castillo Cantero didn’t sugarcoat the stakes.

“If we don’t act now, we’re jeopardizing the health of future generations,” he said. “This isn’t a soap opera episode. It’s a real crisis we live with every day. And this isn’t a call to alarm — it’s a call to act.”

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