Drought persists in Queretaro municipalities

Queretaro, Qro. Of the 18 municipalities in the state, 94.4% (17) suffer from drought, from moderate to severe, reports the National Water Commission (Conagua) at the December 15 cutoff.

Querétaro is the state with the highest percentage of its municipalities with some degree of drought; Hidalgo follows with 75% (63), as well as Baja California with 71.4% (five demarcations).

While the national average is 25.7% (635) of the 2,471 municipalities with moderate, severe and extreme drought in the country.

Among the total number of municipalities in Queretaro, Arroyo Seco is in abnormally dry conditions; while eight are in moderate drought: Pinal de Amoles, Colón, Corregidora, Ezequiel Montes, Jalpan de Serra, Landa de Matamoros, El Marqués and Querétaro.

The remaining nine municipalities are facing a degree of severe drought: Amealco de Bonfil, Cadereyta de Montes, Huimilpan, Pedro Escobedo, Peñamiller, San Joaquin, San Juan del Rio, Tequisquiapan and Toliman.

Conagua establishes four levels: moderate, severe, extreme and exceptional; previously, there is the category of abnormally dry condition, which occurs at the beginning or end of a dry period.

In particular, when there is a moderate drought –which affects eight municipalities– there is damage to crops and pastures; In addition, there is a high risk of fires, low levels in rivers, streams, reservoirs, drinking troughs, and wells, and, in this case, voluntary restriction in the use of water is suggested.

While the severe drought, which impacts nine Queretaro municipalities, is characterized by generating probable losses in crops or pastures, as well as presenting a high risk of fires; At this stage, water scarcity is common and, according to Conagua, restrictions on its use must be imposed.

Ability

In this context, the seven main dams in the state are at only 15.3% of their filling capacity, the lowest level in the country among the 26 entities that contribute the 210 priority dams in Mexico as of December 27.

After Querétaro is Baja California with an average of 23.7% filling and Aguascalientes with 38.3%, while the national average is 64.9%, Conagua exposes.

Among the seven main reservoirs in Querétaro, La Llave dam, in San Juan del Río, has the lowest fill level, at 7.1%; they follow the Constitución de 1917 dam, in San Juan del Río, at 9.3%; La Venta, in Pedro Escobedo, at 9.7%; San Ildefonso, in Amealco de Bonfil, at 9.8%; El Batán, in Corregidora, at 18.5%; El Centenario, in Tequisquiapan, at 27.7% and the Jalpan dam, in Jalpan de Serra, at 91.3 percent.

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