"A lack of rain to fill reservoirs this year has compounded a leaky water network and over-use of groundwater, forcing authorities to look for solutions to urban water shortages".
"MEXICO CITY - Hit by unusually low rainfall this year, Mexico City is working urgently to overcome water shortages, with climate change expected to add to existing problems of an over-exploited aquifer and old, leaky pipes, officials said.
The Mexican capital, situated in a high-altitude valley, relies mostly on water pumped from its underground aquifer and reservoirs dozens of kilometers away to meet water demand in its wider metropolitan area, home to more than 20 million people.
Reservoirs in the Cutzamala system provide one-quarter of the greater city's requirements, but by November after sparse rain, they were almost 18 percentage points below normal levels.
As levels dropped, authorities reduced flow from the reservoirs in the second half of 2020, disrupting tap water supplies and leaving some residents reliant on trucks and cisterns to meet their needs."
Christine Murray reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation December 28, 2020.
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