Monterey, NL. Although the water of the Dam The Knifeand the opening of shallow wells in various parts of the metropolitan area have helped the population not suffer a severe water supply crisisother options must be analyzed, such as the concession of water from the Panuco River and promote the reuse of water, told The EconomistAldo Iván Ramírez Orozco, research professor at the School of Engineering and Sciences of the Tecnologico de Monterrey.
He explained that the construction and filling of the liberty dam It will take several years to start operating, so other long-term options must be sought, such as the concession that the state has for 30 years, by the National Water Comission (Conagua), to bring 15,000 liters per second of national waters that come from the Pánuco River Basin.
On the other hand, “the Cerro Prieto Dam in two months it will not be able to supply water to the metropolitan area; what helps to avoid a crisis is that El Cuchillo is 53.90% full, it is the largest dam in the state with more than 605 million cubic meters, it provides 60 to 70% of all the water that is used “, he highlighted.
He explained that from 2017 to date it has rained less than average. The average state rainfall in 2017 was 613 millimeters per year and dropped to 610 millimeters in 2020; however, it is less than the national average precipitation, which also decreased from 781 millimeters to 779 millimeters in the same period, according to data from Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat).
Although the Cerro Prieto Dam It has a storage capacity of one fifth of El Cuchillo, currently it is at 29,250 million cubic meters, that is, 9.75% full. Also the La Boca damhas to date 8,939 million cubic meters, which represents a filling of 22.64%, which looks semi dry and that has affected the tourism that visited this area.
Actions
To mitigate this shortage of the vital liquid, he said that the government is carrying out some actions, using 20 shallow wells in the Macroplaza and opening wells in the Fundidora Park and the Huasteca area.
It is also possible to resort to the purchase of rights from individuals who have well concessions, as an emergency measure. Juan Ignacio Barragán, general director of Water and Drainage Services of Monterrey, told the television station in recent days Info 7which is estimated to be around 100 individuals who have concessions.
“The system requires between 15 and 16 cubic meters per second, that is, 15,000 to 16,000 meters per second. If we measure it by per capita consumption, it is 165 liters per inhabitant per day, if five people live in a house, they consumed around 750 liters of water per day”, he highlighted.
