The solution to adequate water for Lake Chapala & Guadalajara
My article in last week’s Reporter described how the flow of the Lerma River to Lake Chapala had been reduced by 90 percent or more from 1930 to 2001. This was due primarily to a grossly excessive commitment to irrigation in the Lerma River basin, and the construction of over 500 dams and reservoirs that could store the river’s entire flow. Despite 40 years of discussions and hundreds of pages of studies and rules, no solution has been executed. The key factor is this: for each one percent saved of the 80 percent of the river’s flow that is now used for irrigation, it will be possible to provide domestic water for 400,000 persons.