Mexico City, one of the biggest cities in the world and home to nearly 22 million people, may just be months away from completely running out of water, according to a new report.
Mexico City has been facing a severe water crisis in the past months. Abnormally low rainfall, longer dry periods, and high temperatures brought about by climate change has strained the city's water system-which, at that point, had already been struggling to cope with the increased demand.
As such, some experts are now predicting that Mexico City could see "day zero" in a matter of months. This means water will no longer be accessible for huge swaths of the city, as reported by CNN.
Behind Mexico City's Water Crisis
In 1325, the Aztecs chose the spot where Mexico City is now located to build their city of Tenochtitlan. At the time, the area had a series of lakes that provided water to residents through canals and bridges.
However, the Spanish tore down much of the Aztecs' infrastructure in the early 16th century. The Spanish believed that water could hinder the city from thriving and later proceeded to fill the canals and drain the lake beds.
Their decision later led to waterbeds and rivers being replaced with concrete and asphalt, none of which allows rainwater to sink into the ground. This makes it harder to replenish the water supply in the underground aquifer, which provides 60% of Mexico City's water. Additionally, the aquifer is so over-extracted that the city is sinking around 20 inches a year, according to recent research.
The Cutzamala water system, a network of reservoirs and canals, is also around 39% of capacity amid a severe drought, as reported by the country's National Water Commission. The system supplies 25% of the water used by the Valley of Mexico, including Mexico City.
Mexico City also takes water pumped from sources outside its boundary. However, the process is inefficient as 40% of the water is lost through leaks.
In an effort to conserve water, Mexican officials in October began restricting water from the Cutzamala system by roughly 8%. This was increased to 25% in November.
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