The initial results of a study carried out by the Mexican Institute for Community Development (IMDEC), an independent non-profit, were made public on World Water Day, with a small rally held in Guadalajara’s Plaza Liberacion.
The report highlights the 50 companies in Jalisco that are guilty of “hoarding” or “hogging” the most water. The named companies have all been granted concessions to use various quantities of water from the vulnerable Lerma-Santiago Basin. Among the worst offenders, the report says, are beverage and bottled water companies and real estate developers. Associates from various environmental organizations took to the streets March 22 to publicize the firms, with the name of each acaparador (hoarder) appearing on a placard (with the word misspelled). Among the companies singled out for hogging water were Cerveceria Modelo, Santa Anita Golf Club, the Bugambilias subdivision, Grupo del Valle, Casas Geo, Urbi Construcciones, Sauza, Saposa and the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE). The aim of the IMDEC report is to create transparency and allow the public to know which companies have special concessions to draw water from the Lerma basin and in what quantity.