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Millions of residents of Mexico City are facing realities: "water is life, treasure it or it will be gone." as the city shuts down main pipelines due to drought. The Cutzamala reserves are lower than they have been in almost twenty years.
An unusually dry rainy season last year left the city's Cutzamala water system, comprising seven reservoirs, at 63 percent capacity compared to 85 percent in previous years. The system supplies 25 percent of the metropolitan area's water.
"This year, the amount of rainfall in the area diminished significantly. It wasn't enough to fill up the dams. In past years, the general water level of the dam system had gone up a little bit, but this year it was really scarce." - Javier Ramirez, head of Cutzamala water reserve system
The valves from the dam system are being shut down from Friday until Monday. There will be cutbacks at the end of each month through May. Officials say the move should save 2.64 billion gallons of water in that time. The shut-off also will allow authorities to make much-needed repairs to the pipelines.
The shutdown is indiscriminative. Multimillion dollar homes as well as poverty stricken, haphazard shacks will be affected. In preparation families began saving water in buckets, filling underground cisterns, and bathing, flushing the toilets and washing only when absolutly necessary.
Public service announcements have been provided for years throughout the nation, even more so in Mexico City, which being built on a lake bed has paved over many rivers and creeks as the city continues to develope. Schools regularly counsel children and hold contest on how to save water, but yet waste continues.
Officials admit the only solution to the water woes is a change in usage habits, particularly in Mexico City, which uses more water than the rest of the country combined.
"For certain, this is priority No. 1 for Mexico City, not only because we have announced a reduction this weekend in the supply from Cutzamala, but also because it has to do with sustainability. That is to say, the city cannot keep having the same pattern that it now has, a pattern that until recently believed that the resource is unlimited." Marcelo Ebrard: Chief Mexico City Government Official
Photo Translation: To use deposit $50 pesos: If you keep wasting water, this will soon be a reality!
