This year the weather in Nuevo León has been inclement; During the heat waves, temperatures reached above 45°C, and rains have been scarce throughout 2023, which is why drought affects more than 47% of the territory. Thus, the state dams threaten to dry up in the coming months, alerting the authorities to a possible shortage.
According to the INEGI, rainfall in the state is scarce, with an annual average of 650 mm. Mostly, the rainy season is during the summer, mainly in the months of August and September. However, despite the optimism of the authorities, the rains in these months in Nuevo León were below average in 2023.
In addition, Luis Carlos Alatorre, delegate of Nuevo León of the National Water Commission, reported that there are no favorable rain forecasts in the state for September and October, which will mean a blow to local dams.
Drought in Nuevo León leaves dams at critical levels in 2023
Due to the drought, the level of the dams in Nuevo León has progressively dropped, finding itself in a critical situation in August 2023. Until August 17, the La Boca dam was at 22% of its capacity, while the Cerro Prieto has only 10% of its local capacity.
In September and October, a 40% decrease in the volume of rain in the entity is expected, according to the National Meteorological System. Therefore, according to the calculations of Water and Drainage, La Boca will dry up in the first half of September, and Cerro Prieto will use floating pumps to extract water.
“In ‘Cerro Prieto’ pumping has already begun, but that water and pumping of 1.5 cubic meters per second can reach us until the end of October or beginning of November if it did not rain at all (…) ‘La Boca’ if there is no rainfall, and At the rate of extraction that is being done, in the first half of September we could be losing it,” admitted Alatorre.
Thus, the drought in Nuevo León this 2023 could cause supply cuts in the state, with the southern area of Monterrey being one of the first affected.
Given the alert, the state government is working to complete the installation of the pumping equipment in El Cuchillo II, which is expected to start working in mid-September, distributing part of the liquid from the El Cuchillo dam, which is 44% fill.
What is the government doing to stop the shortage of water?
The problem of water shortages in Nuevo León has afflicted the state since 2023, which is why the government is carrying out different projects to alleviate this situation. Among these is the bombardment of clouds in different areas of the city to stimulate rain; as well as the construction of the dam Libertad and El Cuchillo II.
On July 26, 2023, the Libertad Dam reservoir was closed, with which it seeks to store 307 million cubic meters, being the largest reservoir in all Latin America. When it is in operation, it will provide 1,600 liters of water per second to the population of the entity; contributing to guarantee the Human Right to Water.
In addition, the El Cuchillo II aqueduct will be able to supply an additional 5,000 liters per second to the metropolitan area of Monterrey.
Source: Lider Empresarial
