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Hydraulic infrastructure, an imminent need

By Humberto Armenta

Today, the shortage of water in the country and the constant population growth hasbecome a hurdle for the development and fulfillment of the governments challenges andgoals. The water deficit is also a threat to public health, food sovereignty and socialwellbeing, since large amounts of polluted water are cast to the environment without any

treatment, contaminating beaches at tourism resources and the sources of water foreveryday consumption.

The need for hydraulic infrastructure in our country is evident and imminent, and weshould be placing our stakes on it. Some of the projects already in place should not beabandoned. We have to continue working to improve the countrys situation and itspeople. Improving the hydraulic system not only benefits industry, the impact is so largethat it favors the planet itself thanks to the proper use of water.

The future of hydraulic infrastructure construction depends on financing, institutionalcapacity, co-responsibility, technology, social issues, the importance given to theconservation of infrastructure, preventive maintenance, monitoring, preserving,refurbishment and replacement of equipment, but most of all, it depends on stateprograms and construction companies having access to the information regarding theprocess and implementation of the programs and the operating rules of each of thesubsectors, to promote project execution in all regions.

The strategic projects for the hydraulic sector are part of the National InfrastructureProgram; the assigned resources are programmed each year within the Spending Budgetof the Federation and are complemented on a per-case basis with resources from the

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private sector and state governments. During the period 2009-2012, the federalgovernment must assign investments in the order of 230 billion pesos for priority works inhydraulic infrastructure, out of which 170 billion correspond to drinking water, sewerageand sewage disposal and the rest to watering techniques and other strategic programs.

The emblematic hydraulic infrastructure programs are as follows:

El Zapotillo dam. Consists of a storage dam with 911 mm3 capacity, a 145 kilometeraqueduct, a pumping height of 550 m, a water treatment plant and a macro distributioncircuit in the state of Guanajuato.

Arcediano dam. This project, supported by the El Zapotillo dam, will enable thepreservation of Lake Chapala and will contribute to the environmental rescue of theLerma-Chapala basin.

El Realito dam. Joint project between the governments of Guanajuato and San LuisPotosi to capture surface water of the Rio Santa Maria sub-basin. This is a 50 mm3

storage dam, with a curtain of 88 m and a flow of 1 m3

/s.

Atotonilco is a treatment plant to treat sewage from Atotonilco and the Tunel EmisorOriente. This is a metropolitan project to capture water from the Valley of Mexico, with acapacity of 23 m3/s. The objective is to treat more than 50% of residual waters generatedin the Valley.

Tunel Emisor Oriente will reinforce that main drainage system of the metropolitan area inthe Valley of Mexico to benefit 20 million people by providing enough capacity to processsewage and rainwater, improve hydro sustainability and reduce the risk of flooding.

Agua Prieta and El Ahogado treatment plants. The program includes the concession of

2 purification plants, Agua Prieta with a flow of 8.5 m3/s and El Ahogado plant with a flowof 2.25 m3/s. The rest of the project is made up by a network of drains, collector systems,pumping stations and the San Gaspar 3-meter diameter collecting tunnel and a length of10 km.

Finally, to secure social wellbeing and to comply with the goals established for the currentpresidential term, such as the construction of 6 million homes, tourism facilities, industrialfacilities, schools, hospitals and shopping centers, the development of the hydraulicinfrastructure plays a key role.

Mexico

August 24, 2009