The delayed Zapotillo Dam on the Verde River in northeastern Jalisco will be inaugurated in February 2024, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro confirmed last weekend during a visit to the project in the company of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
After an 11-year pause due to a slew of legal challenges, work restarted on the dam in September of last year, signaling hope that Guadalajara’s chronic water shortages may finally be resolved.
Alfaro said once the “Zapotillo-El Salto-Calderon-El Red” system becomes fully operational, the Guadalajara metropolitan area will receive an additional 5.6 cubic meters of water (5,600 liters) per second, thus guaranteeing its water supply for the next half-century.
This system involves a number of complimentary works to the Zapotillo Dam, some of which will be ready before the end of the year, Alfaro said.
When the Zapotillo Dam is full, its water will be pumped via a pipeline—currently under construction—about ten miles to the Presa El Salto in the municipality of Valle de Guadalupe. Up until now, this dam has exclusively served the needs of the residents of the town of Tepatitlan and its surroundings.
Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.