Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus has replaced the director of the Guadalajara metropolitan area’s water utility, SIAPA, as the agency faces mounting public indignation over foul-smelling, potentially contaminated tap water.
Ismael Jáuregui Castañeda, previously Zapopan’s public works director, took over from Antonio Juárez Trueba on March 23. The change comes less than two weeks after Juárez appeared before state legislators to defend the agency amid revelations that water quality problems affect nearly ten percent of metro-area neighborhoods.
Juárez acknowledged during that hearing that SIAPA has “no resources” and operates with crumbling infrastructure, including a main treatment plant using 1950s technology and water mains more than 90 years old.
Adding to public concern, recent reports have revealed that private entities and municipal governments have been dumping contaminated water directly into SIAPA’s conduits. Jáuregui, a civil engineer with a master’s in construction management, has worked closely with Lemus for more than a decade.