Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure - UN CC:Learn

Chapter 6: Internalization of Climate Risks in the Context of Planning and Urban DevelopmentFigure 6.5: Evolution of precipitation in Mexico CitySource: Jauregui (2004).Figure 6.6: Distribution of precipitation in Mexico CitySource: Magana and Perez (2003).Mexico City also faces serious problems to secure its future water supply. The major source of water forthis mega-city is the aquifer below the urban area (60 percent of the total water consumed in the city).Decades of overexploitation of the aquifer to cope with the increase in demand of water caused by fastpopulation and urban growth during the 20th Century (Figure 6.7) caused a serious subsidence problemin parts of the city (up to 9 meters in the downtown area during the last 100 years). Water recharge in theaquifer is only 50 percent of the water extracted every year. The limited capacity of the aquifer to meetthe water demand in Mexico City led, decades ago, to the importation of water from two neighbouringbasins, the Lerma and the Cuztmala. These basins supply up to 40 percent of the total water consumedin Mexico City but they have reached their capacity. Parts of the city have periodic water shortages, andthere is concern about the future sources of water to meet the growing demand.74Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Conference Proceedings