Servicios de Abastecimiento y Saneamiento - La Tribuna del Agua

SERVICIOS DE ABASTECIMIENTO Y SANEAMIENTO
SUSTAINABLE WATER USE
IN THE CITY OF QUERÉTARO
Manuel M. Urquiza Estrada
ABSTRACT:
In the last 25 years, the Metropolitan Zone
in the City of Querétaro (ZMCQ) has developed
growing complex problems in relation to the
water resources necessary to satisfy its present
and future needs: it needs enough water to cover
demand from agriculture, industry and domestic
use – all fundamental to maintain adequate
economic growth in the region. With a population
estimated at 962,240 in 2007, the challenges
for ZMCQ regarding water management are
clearly linked to the growing increase in demand
which is mainly caused by a rise in the population
and the economic development of recent years. A
high percentage of the water used in ZMCQ comes
from the aquifer in Querétaro Valley, which
has experienced overexploitation to the order of
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60% compared to its recharging – with an average
lowering of the water table of 3.5 m 3 per year
due to the extraction of 110 million m 3 per year.
This aquifer overexploitation is creating a serious
risk; therefore a series of measures to reduce over
pumping was adopted. These include rationalising
consumption and reusing treated water, and incorporating
quantities of water from unconventional
underground and surface sources. In accordance
with the ZMCQ Programme for Provision
and Sustainable Use of Drinking Water, the Aqueduct
II, Radar and Hydro-Meteorological Centre
projects have been implemented, as well as the
Night-time Pressure Management and Sustainable
Residential Fractioning, with which the State
Water Commission of Querétaro is aiming to find
sustainable water use in the Metropolitan Zone iof
City of Querétaro.