AMLO decrees the human right to water as a matter of national security

Monterrey, NL. El Official Journal of the Federation published on July 29, the decree by which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declares that the human right to water is a matter of national security and orders the National Water Commission (With water)provisionally modify or reduce the volumes allocated for uses other than domestic use.

The purpose of the decree is to establish an immediate action plan to address the emergency due to a shortage of drinking water for urban and domestic public use due to low availability and drought in Nuevo Leon.

The president commented during the morning conference last Friday that he seeks to thoroughly resolve the state’s water crisis, in the medium and long term, and reinforce actions immediately.

Perhaps, being strict in our assessment, the solutions that we are proposing —and they will be carried out with the support of the state government and the municipal governments— will allow us to continue working forward, but we will be able to guarantee water eight or 10 years ahead,” AMLO said.

Given the magnitude of the water crisis in Nuevo León, with two dry dams and little rain, in the second article of the decree, it is instructed that “because it is a cause of public utility, public interest and a matter of national securityit is ordered to temporarily take advantage of the existing water rights, through the modification or provisional reduction of concession volumes, destined for uses other than domestic and urban public.

Conagua may enter into concertation agreements with concessionaires and coordination agreements with local authorities that are required to comply with the provisions of the second article.

The volumes of water will be delivered directly from the extraction point in the concessionaire’s infrastructure to the distribution network, in coordination with Water and Drainage Services, while the emergency persists and must be accounted for with meters that will be installed by the state agency.

It explains that Agua y Drainaje will cover the payment of rights in accordance with the urban public use quota provided for in the Federal Law of Rights, while the concessionaires will be freed from the payment of the water right for the time these measures are applied.

Once the emergency is over, the holders of the concessions for the exploitation, use or exploitation of national waters will be able to dispose of the total volume of water granted.

The urban public use is 87.8% of the total and industrial use is 9.8% of the total, according to data from Conagua.

“As an additional measure to mitigate the emergency, a support plan will be established for the supply of drinking water to the population of the affected municipalities through the use of tank trucks, which will be done in coordination between Conagua and the Ministry of National Defense through the mechanism of the DN-III Plan.

Sedena will additionally support the 48 trucks currently operating with 100 trucks as part of the DN III-E program.

Coordination

“The Federal government will coordinate the necessary actions for the financing and execution of the hydraulic infrastructure works of the Libertad dam, under construction, and the Cuchillo II Aqueduct, which will begin in September 2022, which must have resources from the state and federal government.

The financing of the El Cuchillo aqueduct, which will carry 5 cubic meters per second, will be carried out through Banobras with 7,850 million pesos that will cover the contribution of the federation; the state 4,710 million and the municipalities 3,140 million pesos.

Regarding the Libertad dam, this year, the federation contributed 584.7 million pesos, and next year it estimates to invest 1,118.5 million pesos, in total the federation will contribute 3,301.99 million pesos.

In turn, Conagua will provide technical assistance in the operation of the hydraulic infrastructure for the adequate distribution of drinking water to the population and will guarantee the coordination of the three levels of government. In addition, administrative support will be provided for the drilling of emergent wells necessary to increase the volume of domestic and urban public water.

“The actions provided for in this decree, shall apply in the municipalities of Apodaca, General Escobedo, Juarez, Monterrey, Guadeloupe, San Nicolas de los Garza, San Pedro Garza Garcia, Santa Catarina, Cadereyta Jimenez, Ciénega de Flores, General Zuazua, Salinas Victoria, El Carmen, Garcia, Fisheries, Santiago, Aramberri, Doctor Arroyo, General Terran, General Zaragoza, Hualahuises, Linares, Mier and Noriega, and Montemorelos in the state of Nuevo Leon”.

“As well as the others that are affected when there is low availability in drinking water supply sources or due to drought,” the decree mentions.

In the transitory articles, it clarifies that the validity of the decree will be up to six months, but it will be subject to the subsistence of the state of low availability of supply sources.