91视频

By Suman Naishadham

The Associated Press

TIJUANA, Mexico 鈥� Luis Ramirez leapt onto the roof of his bright blue water truck to fill the plastic tank that by day鈥檚 end would empty into an assortment of buckets, barrels and cisterns in 100 homes.

It was barely 11 a.m. and Ramirez had many more stops to make on the hilly, gray fringes of Tijuana 鈥� a sprawling, industrial border city in northwestern Mexico where trucks or 鈥減ipas鈥� like Ramirez鈥檚 provide the only drinking water for many people.

鈥淓ach time, it gets farther and farther where we have to go,鈥� he said, blaming the city鈥檚 water problems on drought and population growth, before jumping into the driver鈥檚 seat next to 16-year-old assistant Daniel Alvarez.

Among the last cities downstream to receive water from the shrinking Colorado River, Tijuana is staring down a water crisis driven also by aged, inefficient infrastructure and successive governments that have done little to prepare the city for diminishing water in the region.

Entire neighborhoods on Tijuana鈥檚 hilly and sometimes grassy outskirts remain unconnected to the city鈥檚 water mains and pipes. Accessing water there is a daily struggle 鈥� and an expensive one, because trucked-in water usually costs much more than what people connected to the city pay.

Taxi driver Aurelio Hernandez lives in one of roughly 150 houses in a remote development near vast industrial parks that make aviation parts in the city鈥檚 south. Dirt roads so steep they seem vertical lead to the village.

鈥淚t is the biggest problem we have,鈥� said Hernandez, who has lived in Rancho el Chicote for 20 years, about the lack of running water.

Hernandez, his wife and two daughters use about 1,585 gallons of trucked-in water per month, he said, at a cost of about 2,000 pesos or $116. The average U.S. family uses more than five times as much water each month, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, yet pays less, despite Mexico鈥檚 much lower wages.

鈥淓very year it鈥檚 the same,鈥� Hernandez said. 鈥淧oliticians come and promise you things, but nothing ever changes.鈥�

Even in middle class neighborhoods, like homemaker Martha Mu帽oz鈥檚 in Tijuana鈥檚 fast-growing south, neighbors have to share updates on WhatsApp about possible shutoffs and coordinate requests to city authorities when they occur.

鈥淭he state government is trying to bring some relief, but it will take time,鈥� Mu帽oz said. 鈥淢eanwhile, it’s really hard every time there鈥檚 a burst pipe, because they leave us without water for five days.鈥�

That鈥檚 what happened in April, when upwards of 600 neighborhoods 鈥� more than half of the whole city 鈥� went without water while the state water utility known as CESPT in Spanish repaired leaks in a primary main.

For some residents, that shutoff lasted days longer than the official 36-hour estimate. Authorities admitted that given the size of the area affected, they could not send water trucks to many neighborhoods.

鈥淧eople are left without water for way too long,鈥� said Jose Manuel Perez Reyes, who distributes trucked-in water, adding that the government sometimes tells residents the shutoffs are to fix pipes when in reality there simply isn鈥檛 enough water.

Even for the 700,000 users, according to CESPT, that are connected to city water, faucets often go dry, forcing them, too, to pay for trucked-in private water.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like playing Whac-a-Mole in terms of trying to see where things are going to pop up next,鈥� said Carlos de la Parra, a water consultant and former professor of urban studies and the environment at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte who has studied water issues in northwestern Mexico for decades.

Water utilities are struggling to keep pace with both Tijuana鈥檚 growth and about eight to 10 years of neglect of infrastructure, de la Parra said.

Then, there’s drought. Nationwide, more than 44 percent of municipalities in Mexico were in drought in May, according to Mexico鈥檚 National Water Commission. Tijuana鈥檚 challenges are acute as one of the country鈥檚 fastest-growing cities in one of Mexico鈥檚 most water-stressed states.

In charge of running the water utility in Tijuana is Victor Amador, who, despite the daily struggles for water in the city, denied that taps run dry except when work is being done on the pipes.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have problems at the moment,鈥� Amador said. 鈥淔or now, we have enough water.鈥�

But that wasn鈥檛 the case in January when Tijuana shut off a water main to perform work and had to request about 540 acre-feet of emergency water from San Diego. (An acre-foot of water is equal to 326,000 gallons.)

The water 鈥� available during times of acute need but counted against Mexico鈥檚 share of Colorado River water 鈥� traveled through Southern California鈥檚 behemoth aqueducts and across the U.S.-Mexico border. Such emergency water transfers have taken place for more than 50 years, the San Diego County Water Authority said, and have been needed every year since 2018 except one.

More than 90 percent of Tijuana鈥檚 water comes from the Colorado River, traveling west across Baja California and over a 4,000-foot mountain pass through a single aqueduct that itself is often under repair. Over the past two years, Mexico鈥檚 share of Colorado River water was slashed by 7 percent, and while those cuts have yet to affect Tijuana, hydrologists and policy experts emphasize that the city and state of Baja California need to secure other water sources 鈥� soon.

Despite years of promises from federal, state and city officials to diversify Tijuana鈥檚 water supply using ocean water desalination and treated wastewater, the city has little to show for it. Amador said the government is working toward developing both.

鈥淲e鈥檙e living in this drought as if nothing were happening,鈥� said Manuel Becerra, a water consultant based in Tijuana and former city superintendent of public services.

Part of the challenge for Tijuana鈥檚 aging infrastructure is the city鈥檚 layout: water is pumped up and down steep hills and canyons to reach developments that have sprawled in every direction as the city has grown 鈥� 19 percent since 2010. Then there鈥檚 the estimated 7 percent of water that Tijuana loses to leaks, according to the state water utility.

鈥淭he topography of the area requires that water is pumped and re-pumped,鈥� Becerra said. 鈥淪ometimes even though there is water, the pumps fail, the power fails, or the pipe breaks, and service is interrupted.鈥�

On Ramirez鈥檚 fifth stop after re-filling his water truck, he descended a steep, gravel road to enter a neighborhood with about 100 homes not connected to city water. He stopped in front of a gray, two-story cinderblock home where retired construction worker Jose Trinidad and his wife move water from tank to bucket to bowl for bathing, cleaning and cooking.

Every month, Trinidad said he spends 1,600 pesos (about $91) for water. After food, it鈥檚 his largest expense.

鈥淲e spend a lot,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult, but we have to deal with it. We have no choice.”

Editor鈥檚 note: video journalist Jordi Lebrija contributed to this report.