Managing water amid rapid urbanization: Mexico's North borderlands

Abstract

The arid and semiarid border cities of northern Mexico sit in a region of rapid industrial growth and development, but they face the challenge of supplying water to an ever-increasing number of people with ever-diminishing water supplies. A number of alternatives exist to meet this challenge: improvements in management efficiency, wastewater treatment and reuse, water transfers from agriculture, and seawater desalination. However, several factors within the current institutional framework, such as the turnover of water managers, the criteria used to design water rates, and the lack of effective sanctions for free riders, restrict the implementation of alternative solutions. In view of these constraints, a reform on water laws and a new institutional framework of urban water management are required to face the combination of water scarcity, economic growth, and the prospect of harsher and longer droughts in the near future. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.