Ciudades y sequía en México. La gestión del agua como estrategia crítica de mitigación.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present and review the main strategy choices for Mexican cities against drought. The main ideas are: 1) that drought has not a direct effect on urban water systems but it is mediated by water infrastructure and by management 2) that drought impact mitigation should be carried out mainly through adaptive water demand management and 3) that the main obstacle for cities to carry out adaptive water management is the lack of reliable information systems. The article reviews the exposure of Mexico's urban municipalities to drought, presents a model for the analysis of drought impact where water management is the critical element and points out that the main obstacle for water utilities tackle and mitigate drought is the lack of an information and indicator system to monitor water waste, meter consumption and effective revenue collection. The establishment of information management and the improvement of these opportunity areas constitute the critical step forward for utilities undertake more effectively and sustainably actions against the recurrent droughts. This kind of management is what we call adaptive water management.