Dry city

By Jimena de Gortari

"We are about to run out of water", with this phrase began a conversation with my daughter this morning. A phrase said more and more frequently every day by those of us who live in Mexico City. In meetings it is common to share (minimal) recommendations about the care we should take, the care we should always have taken to take care of it.

Mexico City is drying up, or rather we have managed to dry it up. This is a fact, although the authorities tell us that "they have other data" or that "it is an invention of the conservatives", numerous experts warn us about what is about to happen. It is urgent to take measures and surely to know some of the strategies that have been used by groups of citizens who have lived with a scarce and rationed resource since forever.

The city we live in is covered in a high percentage by a pavement that radiates heat and does not allow water infiltration, thousands of vehicles circulate on these roads exhaling hot and toxic emissions. The few spaces that allow water infiltration are scarce, some of the natural runoff areas are populated, others are polluted. It is worth mentioning the impressive amount of liters that are lost daily due to the lack of maintenance of the hydraulic network, one of the reasons for the lack of attention could be that, like noise, it is invisible and does not appear in the photo.