Improving Groundwater Management in the Peninsula of Yucatan Through Virtual Training

Water availability in Mexico has decreased from almost 18,000 m³/inhabitant per year in 1950 to almost 4000 m³/inhabitant per year in 2013 according to the Comisión Nacional del Agua (National Water Commission). Drinking water supplies for the Peninsula of Yucatan come from a sole-source aquifer which consists of a thin, fresh water lens. Water-related decisions originally were taken in the central offices in Mexico City of the National Water Commission. Recently, however, there has been a shift to manage water through 26 basin councils. The responsibility for water management in Yucatan falls under the auspices of the Peninsula of Yucatan Basin Council. One current weakness of this arrangement, however, is the lack of training of the members of the Peninsula of Yucatan Basin Council, both in hydrogeology and in the legal aspects.

A group of concerned citizens from academia, civil society, and the Mexican Federal Government have put together an online course to start teaching the “A-B-C´s” of water management and give an introduction into the Ley de Aguas Nacionales (National Water Law). The title of the course is “Water Management in Mexico” (Gestión del Agua en México). The course shows how the basin councils operate, what federal guidelines must be followed to comply with the National Water Law, and what are the legal requirements that all “water users” must follow.

The course is currently being offered as a graduate-level course at both Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Unidad de Ciencas del Agua of the Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán. To date, more than 35 persons are taking the course. This course will be followed with a second online course on Transparency, Accountability, and Integrity in the Water and Sanitation Sector in Mexico.