Ecological Issues: WATER

Water Systems in Mexico City remain the largest issue in the city today for efforts to fix problems like flooding, water shortage and inefficient water sewage and distribution are largely ignored by he government. 

Urbanization reduces the permeability of the soil in the groundwater which means that instead of the water being absorbed by the soil, it continues to flow above it and thus increases the risk of flooding. Each year the amount of water for 500 families are lost due to the the increase of groundwater recharge areas and so pressure for water becomes a growing problem. 

On the left we see people in the capital of Mexico dealing with he reoccurring issue of floods that strike the area. Floods occur because with the draining of the lake over the years, rain has nowhere to go but to remain in the low basin where Mexico City is located. Down below is video footage of what people in the city have to deal with when floods strike their homes. 

 

Water is seen in the video in the homes that has destroyed the walls, floor and belongings of family across the region. 

With all the flooding the precipitation that is received in the capital's region one would assume that they would have no shortages in water, however, this is not the case because there is no efficient system like dikes or dams to control water intake. The picture on the left shows a picture of the water pouring water into a basin so that she can wash her dishes. The water is a part of her weekly rations of water that is supplied to her in bins seen below. 

A water distribution worker is seen placing water into the bins of a low-income area for the people cannot rely on there home systems since often it is contaminated or not sufficient. Along with shortages, people and the government have depleted its grounwater resources because with the increase in population, groundwater has been overused.  In 1983, systematic monitoring of the water levels in the aquifer began. Since that time, the average annual declines in ground water levels range from 0.1 to 1.5 meters per year in different zones. 

The sewage system also is lacking in the system because it is often left unchecked or needs major repairs. 

Drainage systems in Mexico City

 As seen above, most of people's drainage is connected to the public net meaning that most of Mexico City's waste goes to the same place, however, this has caused problems for the city because their waste services are lacking. Most of the water is left unchecked and cannot be reused since it is not filtered.

In the pie chart below we see that most people rely on water to come from inside their houses meaning that they have to have there own septic tanks and underground water resources. This means that they only have a limited amount of water they can use since the tanks below are meant to be as a reserve and not as a primary suppler of water which then does not allow people who live in Mexico City the ability to use water all the time, they have to then rely on the water they receive weekly and save what they can to make sure they don't run out when it is really needed.

Water Services in Mexico City

To further cause problems, Mexico city is sinking! The draining of the lakes has made soil soft while the draining of groundwater has left empty underground resources and so all around the region soil sink deeper in and buildings that were once beautifully crafted, like the Cathedral, are threaten from collapse or destruction.

Workers trying to fix the underground of the Cathedral

Earth cracks are seen more frequently in the region for the earth randomly sink in and breaks the earth of an area.