Water

Last review: December, 2024

Banobras offers interested parties information on the sector in Mexico with data from various sources in order to provide knowledge on the subject and useful elements for decision-making at the sectoral level. The content presented does not reflect the position of Banobras.

Government of Mexico presents National Water Plan 2024-2030 that conceives water as a right and an asset of the nation. Go to website

On November 21, 2024, the Government of Mexico presented the 2024-2030 National Water Plan, which aims to guarantee the human right to water in sufficient quantity and quality, promote responsible management of water resources, and ensure their long-term sustainability.

The plan is based on four main pillars:

1. Water policy and national sovereignty
2. Justice and access to water
3. Environmental impact mitigation and climate change adaptation
4. Integrated and transparent management

The following actions will also be implemented:

• A government investment of approximately 20 billion pesos for water projects in 2025.
• Strategic projects targeting regions with the greatest need for access to the human right to water, including: Presa El Novillo en La Paz, Baja California Sur;  Desaladora Playas de Rosarito, en Baja California; Sistema de presas en Hermosillo, Sonora; Presa Tunal II en Durango; Presa Milpillas en Zacatecas; el Acueducto Ciudad Victoria II, en Tamaulipas; Presa Las Escobas en San Luis Potosí; Redes troncales para el proyecto Agua Saludable en Durango y Coahuila; el Acueducto Solís en León, Guanajuato; Acueducto Zacualpan II en Colima; Acueducto La Cangrejera-Coatzacoalcos en Veracruz; Presa Paso Ancho en Oaxaca; Acuaférico en Campeche; Obras de protección contra inundaciones en Tabasco; el Plan integral para Acapulco y el Plan integral para la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México.
• “Master Infrastructure Plan” to finance projects through federal programs: Rights Refund Program (PRODDER), Wastewater Treatment Program (PROSANEAR), Drinking Water, Drainage, and Treatment Program (PROAGUA), Social Infrastructure Contribution Fund (FAIS), and Direct Federal Investment.
• Regulation of concessions
• Creation of the National Water Registry for Well-being (Renab) with a single database for efficient, transparent management with zero corruption
• Conducting an inspection program nationwide to regulate water use and exploitation
• Promoting reforms to the National Water Law and the enactment of the General Water Law
• Issuance of a decree to facilitate the regularization of expired concessions and access to subsidies, credits, and programs
• SEMARNAT-CONAGUA sanitation for the ecological restoration of the Lerma-Santiago, Atoyac, and Tula rivers
• Signing of the National Agreement for the Human Right to Water and Sustainability on November 25, 2024.

According to the document “Water Statistics in Mexico 2023-2024” by Conagua, Mexico has a total of 461,640 million cubic meters of renewable water, which averages to 3,569 cubic meters per inhabitant per year. However, water availability varies significantly by geographic location. The northern, central, and northwestern regions host the majority of the population and economic activity, yet have significantly lower renewable water availability compared to the southeastern region.

The distribution of the volumes granted for consumptive uses reflects the allocation of water resources according to different sectoral needs:

• 76% Agriculture
• 15% Public Supply
• 5% Self-supplied Industry
• 4% Electric Power (excluding hydroelectric)

• Approximately 6,500 storage dams and reservoirs.
• 6.7 million hectares with irrigation.
• 2.8 million hectares with technified rain-fed agriculture.
• 96.1% of the population has access to drinking water.
• 93.8% of the population has access to sewage systems.
• 984 drinking water treatment plants in operation.
• 2,872 municipal wastewater treatment plants in operation.
• 3,745 industrial wastewater treatment plants in operation.
• Over 3,000 km of aqueducts.

The area with irrigation infrastructure is approximately 6.6 million hectares, of which 3.3 million correspond to 86 irrigation districts (DR) and the remaining 3.3 million to nearly 51,000 irrigation units (UR). The DR are irrigation projects developed by the Federal Government, including storage reservoirs, direct diversions, pumping plants, wells, canals, and roads, among others. The UR are agricultural areas with infrastructure and irrigation systems distinct from the irrigation districts, generally covering smaller areas.

For the agricultural year 2021-2022 in the irrigation districts (DR), the main crops by harvested area were corn, wheat, sorghum, alfalfa, sugarcane, and beans, which together accounted for 54.9% of the harvested area. These six crops represented 60.6% of the production in tons and 49.6% of the production value in thousands of pesos.

Municipal water treatment plants improve the quality of water from surface or groundwater sources to make it suitable for human consumption. In 2022, 113.9 m³/s were treated in 988 treatment plants.

Description of the hierarchy and roles of the different entities and actors involved in the sector, including how the different institutions and agencies coordinate and collaborate.

It has a wide range of products designed to strengthen the financial structure of the infrastructure projects that the country requires, from the conception to the completion of the projects, providing the following financial instruments that make the projects more attractive for financing with private resources: