translated from Spanish: Reduction in dams and pandemic demand generates drought: Conagua

In March 2021, the storage of precipitation in dams was reduced by 46.2%, one of the lowest levels since the beginning of their registration, in 1941, pointed out by the National Water Commission (Conagua).
The rainfall deficit has been coming since 2020, when there was a decrease of 3% compared to the average. Added to this was the additional demand for water due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly in regions with high population concentrations. 
The Conagua reported that the areas most affected by drought effects are located in the northwest and north of the country, in Guanajuato, Michoacán, Guerrero and on the north coast of Oaxaca.
Read also: The challenge of bringing water to 12 million Mexicans who don’t have
“While drought and water scarcity do not mean the same thing—since the former relates to below-average rainfall for several months or years—the population and productive sectors have had enough water to meet the demand for their activities,” said Commission Director-General Blanca Jiménez Cisneros.
So far this year, The Conagua has distributed 38.9 million liters of drinking water by tanker trucks, this for 112 thousand 517 inhabitants in situations of vulnerability of entities that have requested it.
Jiménez Cisneros stated that thanks to the efficient administration of dams agricultural areas have not been affected, since for the last five years the National Committee of Large Dams has authorized 90% of the water for agricultural irrigation that has been requested by users of this sector.
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It has also supported the fight of wildfires, through two helicopters that perform precision discharges. Until this year, 600 discharges of retardant liquid have been made, equivalent to 1.5 million liters, carried out in four entities: Coahuila, Morelos, Nuevo León and Oaxaca; secured the director.
He took the opportunity to urge the different government orders, as well as the population to “make more efficient use of water to avoid waste and thus support in the conservation of sources of supply”.
Some of the reasons why there is water scarcity go back to the drought of the lake on which the Valley of Mexico is founded, the interruption of the water cycle and the pollution of it. To understand more about this, an expert explained the key points of the phenomenon.
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Original source in Spanish