Riego con agua subterránea y sobreexplotación de acuíferos

This fact sheet describes the use of municipal-scale spatial data to manage groundwater and surface water allocation in Mexico, highlighting the risks of aquifer overexploitation and the need for localized demand management.

• Mexico utilizes 29 km3 of groundwater annually, with over two-thirds of this volume dedicated to agriculture. Groundwater accounts for one-third of agricultural water use, half of industrial water use, and two-thirds of the water used by urban populations in Mexico.
• In arid and semi-arid northern Mexico, groundwater is increasingly used to offset climate-driven variability in surface flows and to support high-value crops for global and US markets. Severe over-allocation of water resources in some areas has led to aquifer depletion, irreversible water quality degradation, and the capture of shallow surface flows that support riparian habitats.
• While the Comisión Nacional del Agua manages resources using large-scale balances of recharge and pumping at the basin and aquifer levels, municipal-scale data reveals significant differences in exploitation levels. This granularity allows policymakers to determine if groundwater overexploitation should be addressed through the reallocation of concessions or by reducing demand.
• Spatial analysis of municipal data identifies specific areas where surface water can complement or substitute groundwater. In regions where both a municipality and its neighbors rely heavily on groundwater, regional substitution is not viable, and resource depletion must be managed by reducing demand.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2011). Riego con agua subterránea y sobreexplotación de acuíferos. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/snapshot9_SP.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Riego con agua subterránea y sobreexplotación de acuíferos. 2011. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/snapshot9_SP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Riego con agua subterránea y sobreexplotación de acuíferos |date=2011 |url=https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/snapshot9_SP.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2011riego, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Riego con agua subterránea y sobreexplotación de acuíferos}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2011}, url = {https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/snapshot9_SP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }