The initiative to reform the General Water Law and the National Water Law seeks to avoid the commercialization of water, end hoarding, overexploitation of the black market and ensure that there is a more equitable distribution for all uses, not only to address, let’s say, current needs and data, but also to guarantee water for the future.
José Luis Acosta Rodríguez, State Delegate of the National Water Commission (Conagua) in Yucatán added that, “these two initiatives being studied in the Chamber of Deputies, have their origin in the fourth article of the Constitution and in the fifth paragraph of article 27. The General Water Law seeks to establish the bases to guarantee the human right to water, regulating its relationship with other rights, as well as defining plans and strategies that ensure this fundamental right.”
During a visit to the newspaper’s editorial office, the federal official explained the objectives and implications of these reforms as part of the dissemination of these initiatives that the president of the country sent to federal legislators, for their study and approval soon.
He highlighted that one of the priorities of the new legislation is to guarantee that the human right to water is not only recognized, but that it is managed efficiently. “The reform defines the powers between federal, state and municipal authorities, and recognizes the importance of community water systems, which will allow indigenous communities to manage their water resources within the legal framework.”
Regarding the National Water Law, Acosta Rodríguez pointed out that the organization of concessions is a crucial aspect. “The new legal framework establishes that concession titles cannot be transferred between individuals. Instead, they must be returned to Conagua, which will be in charge of reassigning them, thus guaranteeing that the use of water is regulated appropriately and the black market is avoided,” he explained.
He commented that there is concern that if their titles, their volumes could be reduced, but that is not the case. “All current concessions are maintained and are respected under the same terms that have been issued,” he stated.
Another approach, he continued, is what happens when an individual is going to sell their plot to another person? What happens to the water that that user has a concession? “In this case, what the user is going to do is return, notify Conagua and request that that volume be assigned to the person who buys it. And Conagua, through an expeditious and simpler procedure, will authorize the change of owner and issue a new title,” he indicated.
Limitations
The delegate stressed that, “It is no longer going to be given from individual to individual, now the authority has to be notified so that it can be transferred through the authority and the volume reassigned to the new owner of the property. And the same thing happens when it is inherited, for example from parents to children who want to inherit or if they are inheritance rights because the owner died,” he specified.
The delegate mentioned that the reforms seek to combat the misuse of water and prevent hoarding. “Guarantee quotas and review periods will be established every two years to ensure that the concessioned water is used effectively. If a user does not use their assigned volume in three periods, the water will return to the state,” he warned.
Acosta Rodríguez also highlighted the importance of maintaining legal certainty for current users of water concessions. “The current concessions will be respected and will continue under the same terms, and users will be able to request extensions, as long as they comply with their regulatory obligations,” he stated.
A fundamental aspect of the reforms is the promotion of efficiency in the use of water, especially in the agricultural sector, which consumes 70% of the water resource at the national level. “We are promoting the modernization of irrigation, which will allow more efficient use of water and will help increase agricultural productivity,” explained Acosta Rodríguez.
In Yucatán, Conagua works with the agricultural sector to promote investments in irrigation technologies, such as drip irrigation and the use of solar panels for energy supply. “The collaboration between Conagua, the state government and users is key to the success of these initiatives,” concluded the delegate.
With these reforms, the government seeks not only to ensure access to water as a human right, but also to guarantee the sustainability of the resource in the future, comprehensively addressing the challenges facing the water sector in Mexico, he stated.— DAVID DOMÍNGUEZ
Natural resources Water
The agricultural sector took 76% of the total water concessioned in Mexico in 2020, according to a report.
Public supply
In the country, public supply—water for domestic consumption, urban networks, etc.—is only around 15% of the total concessioned water.
New law
The initiative of the new General Water Law and the reform of the National Water Law are based on articles 4 (human right to water) and 27 fifth paragraph of the Constitution.
Water crimes
The legislative proposal includes the creation of a chapter on water crimes, criminalizing the illegal exploitation, extraction or transfer of national waters to combat the black market in water.
Inconsistencies
In the review of concession titles, Conagua detected inconsistencies: for example, more than 58,000 irregularities in reviewed concessions in almost 500,000 titles examined.