Water shortage

In November, I read the article on the link below with alarm (Critical drought expected for 2025. Population must prepare). The city water manager said he projects our groundwater reserves will be depleted by February or March due to the deficit rainfall during last year's green season.
"In an optimistic scenario, Salas Reyes estimated that, if the resource is used responsibly, the water available in the groundwater could cover demand until February and March 2025."

I am not aware of a citywide water conservation plan that has been announced. Has anyone heard whether CAPAZ is planning to implement water restrictions?

Sure, pipa water can be delivered but it's more expensive. I fear our local residents will bear the brunt of water shortages while big complexes keep the sprinklers running to keep the gardens pretty.

https://www.meganoticias.mx/ixtapa-zihuatanejo/noticia/vislumbran-sequia-critica-para-2025-poblacion-debe-prepararse/568596

In November, I read the article on the link below with alarm (Critical drought expected for 2025. Population must prepare). The city water manager said he projects our groundwater reserves will be depleted by February or March due to the deficit rainfall during last year's green season.
"In an optimistic scenario, Salas Reyes estimated that, if the resource is used responsibly, the water available in the groundwater could cover demand until February and March 2025."

I am not aware of a citywide water conservation plan that has been announced. Has anyone heard whether CAPAZ is planning to implement water restrictions?

Sure, pipa water can be delivered but it's more expensive. I fear our local residents will bear the brunt of water shortages while big complexes keep the sprinklers running to keep the gardens pretty.

https://www.meganoticias.mx/ixtapa-zihuatanejo/noticia/vislumbran-sequia-critica-para-2025-poblacion-debe-prepararse/568596

I believe I alluded to this recently in one of my ZIH comments. Water restrictions are constantly in place by means of a perpetual tandeo where water is allotted to certain colonias on certain days. Downtown and the tourist areas tend to get the most water while the colonias populares often go days and sometimes weeks without water. This is one of the drawbacks of our unsustainable tourism economy, and besides being seen as a sign of the gentrification of Zihuatanejo it can foment animosity among the local population against the people who live in the developments with lawns, gardens and pools that use lots of water.

Apparently it will never occur to our local politicians, especially those who own cement and construction companies, to implement a moratorium against the construction of new developments until we get our house in order and build a proper water supply and wastewater infrastructure, something that should've been done years ago. They can just keep ignoring a problem that doesn't inconvenience them personally in their haste to make as much money as quickly as they can building and issuing building permits while in their position of municipal power. So I don't see this problem being resolved anytime in the foreseeable future, though I truly hope they prove me wrong.

The resentment toward gentrification expressed by many Mexican nationals is
completely understandable. If my access to water was sacrificed on the altar of tourism and building permits, yeah, I'd be pissed.

At our condo complex on La Ropa, we have started an awareness campaign to conserve water and are actively pursuing ways to conserve. Problem is that unless there are citywide water restrictions in place, the water we save will have the next guy saying, "Yay, more for me" until it runs out.

Here I go.

Mounting Soapbox

Our societies seem to be premised on the idea that we should use up as much of our resources as possible, as quickly as possible.

“Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes.”

“I’m all right, Jack.”

“Damn the next generation. I’m getting mine now.”

The same politicians who criticize budget deficits as “burdening our children with debt” seem to have no problem with condemning our children and grandchildren to environmental hell, whether that be global warming through the promotion of fossil fuels (“Drill, baby, drill”), thirst due to profligate waste of water resources, or starvation due to crop failures and uneven distribution of food.

I don’t know how water is priced in Zihuatanejo, but it seems to me that it is priced all wrong in Troncones. It is a flat rate per cubic metre. That provides no incentive for responsible use of a finite resource in the face of increasing demand.

I would like to see a pricing structure similar to, but more developed than, electricity pricing. For those unfamiliar with it, CFE charges a very low rate for minimal consumption. Locally, some people pay M$200-M$300 every two months.

But put more demands on the resource and you pay a higher rate, and the rate keeps increasing. Some rich locals are paying tens of thousands of pesos each bill.

I would like to see the same for water… plus.

Pay higher rates with increased consumption, but also put a cap on properties. If you have a residential property, I don’t care how rich you are, you should not be permitted to be irresponsible. If you have tourist accommodation, get with the program or we are going to force you into the program.

Properties with expansive lawns should be considered as social pariahs, just as people who smoke in restaurants are seen as blights on humanity.

This is not a rant against gringos. It is a rant against irresponsible behaviour. There is enough criticism to go to profligate Mexicans as well as we foreigners who behave as guests who ought to be unwelcome.

Stepping Down

AGREE 100%

Pay higher rates with increased consumption, but also put a cap on properties. If you have a residential property, I don’t care how rich you are, you should not be permitted to be irresponsible. If you have tourist accommodation, get with the program or we are going to force you into the program.

Properties with expansive lawns should be considered as social pariahs, just as people who smoke in restaurants are seen as blights on humanity.

This is not a rant against gringos. It is a rant against irresponsible behaviour.

I fear the incredible hospitality of our host country will soon reach its limit.

If I lived in a colonia where my family just had to "accept" that our water needs were a distant second to los ricos, I might be tempted to pay a little visit to those properties with expansive, nicely watered lawns (with a few dozen of my friends).

Yo tambien.

Speaking as a guest, who uses water conservatively… I believe many other tourist would be more conservative. They knew the conditions. We stayed in two hotels this trip one encouraged towel reuse, but nothing was said in either about a drought.

One simple fix that would save thousands and thousands of gallons a year is to clearly label faucets, hot, and cold. Because the plumbing is so erratic you never know which is which and we was gallons trying to figure it out.

Red and blue stickers on all!

And how would that save water? People who live here simply use tepid water to wash as soon as it comes from the tap. Don’t you?

Speaking as a guest, who uses water conservatively… I believe many other tourist would be more conservative. They knew the conditions. We stayed in two hotels this trip one encouraged towel reuse, but nothing was said in either about a drought.

One simple fix that would save thousands and thousands of gallons a year is to clearly label faucets, hot, and cold. Because the plumbing is so erratic you never know which is which and we was gallons trying to figure it out.

Red and blue stickers on all!

Mexicans generally know nowadays to save water, though they may not always act like it.

I've never seen hot and cold water faucets reversed. Were you confused by the "C" for Caliente on the tap?

Red and blue stickers on all!

Red and blue stickers on all wouldn’t help. “Is this red and blue sticker on the tap for hot or for cold?”

Red or blue stickers might help. But then partisan Americans would either be scalding themselves or using tepid water because they would refuse to use one of the taps!

As an aside, when people ask whether I have hot and cold running water I tell them, “No, I have hot and tepid running water.”

Not to worry. This will take care of itself. When the taps run dry and the pools have no water, Do not fret as the Tourists (Gringos and Nationals alike) as well as Expat's will no longer be around. No more tourists, no more money, no more jobs. All Gone. It is the balance of nature. Kill all the deer and the wolves will die. The wolves die and the deer come back. Those that live here will then have enough water for themselves. The word will get out, the pools will fill back up, the taps will run freely and the cycle begins again. "Pain is the best education one can get"

Was that a quote from Silent Spring? Eerie.

Speaking as a guest, who uses water conservatively… I believe many other tourist would be more conservative. They knew the conditions. We stayed in two hotels this trip one encouraged towel reuse, but nothing was said in either about a drought.

It's good that you use water conservatively as a practice.

Tourism feeds the local economy so it's no surprise that the critical water shortage is not communicated to visitors. Now you know about the drought and so does anyone else reading the message board.

That sounds like a lot of unnecessary suffering for a lot of people who have few options.

In contrast, we the wealthy could live more responsibly and reduce unnecessary suffering for ourselves as well as others.

... we the wealthy could live more responsibly and reduce unnecessary suffering for ourselves as well as others.

In the late 1980’s, a journalist was on assignment covering cultures around the world and specifically, how their cultures relate to and think of our culture. His guide in East Africa (the affluent part of Central Africa) invited him to come see the distribution of the clothes from the dead Americans to the locals. When the journalist asked the guide why the locals thought the clothes were from dead Americans, the guide looked at him oddly and said, “Why would a living person give away any of their clothes?”

Of course, this was almost 2 generations ago. With some bumps along the way, Africa has been experiencing strong economic growth for some time now.

Sure, pipa water can be delivered but it's more expensive. I fear our local residents will bear the brunt of water shortages while big complexes keep the sprinklers running to keep the gardens pretty.

What happens when pipa water runs out? Rivers mostly stop running in the dry season, so I assume pipas then get their product from groundwater. No groundwater, no pipa water?

Sure, pipa water can be delivered but it's more expensive. I fear our local residents will bear the brunt of water shortages while big complexes keep the sprinklers running to keep the gardens pretty.

What happens when pipa water runs out? Rivers mostly stop running in the dry season, so I assume pipas then get their product from groundwater. No groundwater, no pipa water?

Pipas can use private wells, and they can also travel to other locales if necessary.

can you drink the tap water in ixtapa or Zihua? or is it highly recommended to drink bottle water including in restaurants etc..

Delivered bottled water is inexpensive, and you MUST use it for your doggie. The calcium levels in the tap water are way too high for them.

We use ePura for our 5 gallon jugs. They drive by the house Tues, Thurs and Sat and beep. If we need water, we wave, never getting less that three jugs, to make it worth their while. The price went up for us Jan 1, and it varies, but we now pay 31 pesos per garafon. They carry them up to the second floor, and we tip them. When we had health issues, they happily carried them up to the fourth floor and mounted them on our bases.

Great water is inexpensive and be SURE to give it to your pets too!

No restaurant will serve you other than bottled water. I am not a coffee drinker, and have no need for the little bottle of water, so with my meals i ask for a glass of water, knowing it will be the "good stuff."

can you drink the tap water in ixtapa or Zihua? or is it highly recommended to drink bottle water including in restaurants etc..

Good question. Locally, the water from the taps is called "agua potable" but everyone knows it isn't.

Like WC Fields, I avoid drinking water. Fish make love in it. When travelling, I feel anything that doesn't fizz when you open the bottle is dangerous a la Montezuma.

I passed by Zipolite (Zip-o-lite) I got pretty sick just brushing my teeth with the water there. People and fish plus the whales make love in it everywhere there. They even put plastic mattress covers on the bed cause they know people are going to take the chance and sht the bed.

Does anyone have a measurement of the amount of rain in Zihuatanejo over the past three days? I'm hoping the steady, and at times intense, rainfall may have been enough for the city water supply to last a while longer,

Delivered bottled water is inexpensive, and you MUST use it for your doggie. The calcium levels in the tap water are way too high for them.

Great water is inexpensive and be SURE to give it to your pets too!

I never heard this kind of argument...Tap water in Switzerland and the Alps are one of the purest but are really hard.
You may drink milk or take calcium pills as well, which contain a lot more calcium than water. Your body will get rid of the excess.

Our dog drinks tap water 5months per year in Zihuatanejo and never had any issue with it.

One of the contributors to this forum has posted that he has a weather station on La Ropa. Go to weatherlink.com and search for Casa 4 Vientos. I think you have to register.

In any case, the site shows 2.39 inches of rain as of 11 PM today.

Great! Thank you for the reply and the information.

That would be a she.

sorry and thanks for the info.

Near the dolphins on la Ropa, 2.4 inches of rain as of this morning.

2.4 inches is helpful and there was doubtless more in some hill locations but I suspect that it would require much more to really recharge the aquifers.