Groundwater use in agriculture risks aquifer over-exploitation: Managing water at the local level in Mexico to buffer against global change

The document highlights the risk of aquifer over-exploitation in Mexico, where agriculture uses over two-thirds of the approximately 29 km3 of groundwater pumped annually. It argues that because groundwater and surface water use varies significantly at the municipality level, management interventions must be tailored to this scale. The text identifies three types of municipal clusters: red areas where high groundwater use by both the municipality and its neighbors necessitates demand management; green areas with low pressure on resources; and yellow/orange areas where differences in water use between neighbors allow for potential transfers or allocation adjustments.

• Mexico pumps approximately 29 km3 of groundwater every year, with the agricultural sector accounting for more than two-thirds of that volume.
• Groundwater is used as a buffer against surface water flow variability caused by climate change and to support high-value crops for global and U.S. markets, particularly in Mexico's arid and semiarid North.
• Over-allocation of water resources in certain regions leads to aquifer depletion, irreversible water quality degradation, and the capture of shallow surface flows that support riparian habitats.
• Current management by the Comisión Nacional del Agua occurs at the scale of river basins and aquifers, but data shows that exploitation levels vary greatly at the smaller scale of individual municipalities.
• Spatial analysis identifies specific management strategies based on municipal clusters: demand management is required in 'red areas' where both a municipality and its neighbors rely heavily on groundwater, while 'yellow and orange areas' offer opportunities for water transfers or allocation adjustments due to differing water use patterns between neighbors.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2011). Groundwater use in agriculture risks aquifer over-exploitation: Managing water at the local level in Mexico to buffer against global change. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/snapshot9_EN.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Groundwater use in agriculture risks aquifer over-exploitation: Managing water at the local level in Mexico to buffer against global change. 2011. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/snapshot9_EN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Groundwater use in agriculture risks aquifer over-exploitation: Managing water at the local level in Mexico to buffer against global change |date=2011 |url=https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/snapshot9_EN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2011groundwater, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Groundwater use in agriculture risks aquifer over-exploitation: Managing water at the local level in Mexico to buffer against global change}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2011}, url = {https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/snapshot9_EN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }