President Claudia Sheinbaum presented the National Water Plan 2024-2030, which redefines water as “a human right and a good of the nation.” The plan prioritizes the organization of concessions, the modernization of agricultural irrigation, the sanitation of bodies of water such as the Lerma-Santiago, Atoyac and Tula rivers, and the construction of water infrastructure in critical regions.
With an initial investment of 20 billion pesos by 2025, the project seeks to guarantee equitable access to water, mitigate environmental impact and promote transparent management.
Plan axes and key objectives
The National Water Plan is structured into four fundamental pillars:
- Water policy and national sovereignty: Recover unused concessioned water and guarantee its equitable distribution for human consumption.
- Justice and access to water: Promote universal access and reduce inequalities in its distribution.
- Mitigation of environmental impact: Adapt to climate change and restore degraded aquatic ecosystems.
- Comprehensive and transparent management: Create a National Water Registry and simplify procedures to eradicate corruption.
By 2025, the Government of Mexico will allocate 20 billion pesos to the execution of key projects, including the modernization of agricultural irrigation, the sanitation of bodies of water such as the Lerma-Santiago, Atoyac and Tula rivers, and the construction of infrastructure water in critical regions.
Main initiatives
- Ordering of concessions: Encourage the return of unused concessioned water to prioritize human consumption.
- Strategic infrastructure: 16 projects are contemplated, including dams, aqueducts and distribution systems, in states such as Durango, Oaxaca, Guanajuato and Veracruz.
- River sanitation: Treatment plants and wetlands will be rehabilitated, in addition to eliminating polluting discharges with the collaboration of SEMARNAT.
- Irrigation technology: Modernize more than 200 thousand hectares of agricultural land, benefiting 225 thousand families and improving field productivity by 51%.
National Agreement for the Human Right to Water
As part of the plan, an agreement will be signed on November 25 with companies, communities, academics and different levels of government. So far, this effort has achieved a commitment to return 2,500 million cubic meters of concessioned water, enough to supply Mexico City for more than two years.
“The agreement also contemplates that the signatory companies invest in making their production processes more efficient to save water and that they even invest in some community works that will benefit different regions of the country. So far, they have been contemplated, there are commitments for an investment of more than 16,400 million pesos of private investment,” said the president. “These projects will be financed through the federalized programs PROSANEAR, PROAGUA, PRODDER, and with direct state and federal investment. It is also contemplated that part of the Social Infrastructure Fund that the municipalities receive during 2025 will be allocated to water issues,” explained Claudia Sheinbaum.
In addition, Sheinbaum said that for the sanitation of the Lerma-Santiago rivers; Atoyac, which includes the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, and Tula, will work jointly with the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to eliminate polluting discharges; reforest; rehabilitate and build treatment plants and collectors, as well as the construction of wetlands.
Impact on sustainable development
Alicia Bárcena, Secretary of the Environment, described the plan as an “indispensable instrument” to guarantee water sustainability, while Julio Berdegué, Secretary of Agriculture, highlighted its role in food sovereignty.
With this project, the Sheinbaum government seeks not only to ensure equitable access to water, but also to turn it into an engine for social justice, environmental protection and economic development, positioning Mexico as a benchmark in global water management.
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