No progress in the General Water Law

Federal deputies and senators closed the work of the second regular period of sessions and practically said goodbye without progressing in the issuance of a General Water Law, thus confirming the omission that has been incurred for more than a decade, despite the mandate of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) to legislate in this regard.

The replacement of the National Water Law has remained in the “freezer” since 2013, when the one-year period to issue a new law expired, in compliance with the constitutional reforms that a year before (1992) recognized the access, disposal and water sanitation as a human right.

Former President Felipe Calderón then ordered the issuance of a General Water Law in the next 360 days; Ten years later, constitutional controversies were promoted for which in 2022, the SCJN determined the omission of the congressmen and ordered the issuance of said legislation.

During the course of the LXV Legislature, which will conclude its functions on August 31, various initiatives arose that were left in the pipeline, such as the one presented in the Commission on Hydraulic Resources, Drinking Water and Sanitation of the Chamber of Deputies, but in which there was not enough time to reach agreements with federal government bodies such as the National Water Commission and Semarnat.

Another was presented by Gina Campuzano, from the PAN parliamentary group, to modify some articles of the current law, which also did not prosper. In the Senate, proposals were also made that were not even the subject of discussion.

Organizations such as the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) have highlighted the urgency of taking actions to avoid a water crisis in the coming years and decades, with the modernization of legislation being the first link to adapt it to the new reality.

INDIGNATION

Elizabeth Estrada Macías, from the Citizen Water Comptroller’s Office, considered that the serious omission of the Chambers of Deputies and Senators regarding the promulgation of the General Water Law produces indignation and annoyance.

He said that despite the fact that since February 2020 there has been a citizen initiative that was presented before both chambers by the organization Water for All, Water for Life, and on which more than 300 forums were held and almost 200 thousand signatures were gathered in the entire country that endorsed it, the legislators continue to ignore society and the Court.

Given the serious water crisis that afflicts a large part of the country, a new law is urgently needed that guarantees the human right to water and prioritizes the ecological flow and the care and restoration of aquifers, he indicated, since currently the official standard NOM 011 of Conagua , which measures the average annual availability of subsoil and recharge, is erroneous.

Ricardo Peláez Mora, from the Water and Environmental Resources Innovation Network (RIARA), considered that the current law offers some advantages, but must be adapted to current conditions, given that its original structure dates back 32 years.

Among the advantages it contemplates, participation instruments stand out, such as basin councils, although these figures only have consultative characteristics. In this case, he said, legislation should be updated so that these councils are decision-making bodies.

He said that water legislation is extremely complex and requires the attention and intervention of specialists in the subject, an aspect that was not promoted by the legislators in office, despite the fact that water is of vital importance.

“We hope that the next legislature will make the effort and work on the issue, given the need for transparency, accountability and surveillance in the use of this resource,” he indicated.