Rural communities in Guanajuato at risk of running out of water – why?
Inhabitants of Mexico’s Pénjamo and nearby municipalities manage their own wells, but debts and lack of resources threaten the service.in rural communities, water utilities are managed by the inhabitants themselves, which means that they are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the wells. To cover these needs, the inhabitants make voluntary contributions, but these are barely enough to pay for the electricity service, which forces them to make extraordinary collections when major repairs are required.
In municipalities such as Pénjamo, Abasolo, Cuerámaro and Huanímaro, there are water utilities that distribute water in the municipalities and in some rural communities. However, water management in these communities works differently: although the municipal and state governments build the wells for drinking water supply, the operation and distribution of the resource is in the hands of rural committees formed by the inhabitants themselves. This generates constant difficulties, as the lack of agreements between users prevents the improvement of the service.
One of the main problems faced by these committees is the overdue portfolio, which limits the income necessary to cover the costs of operation, payment of electricity, maintenance and repair of leaks.
In communities such as Labor de Renta and Churipitzeo, in Pénjamo, the committees have implemented measures to cover these expenses. In Churipitzeo, the situation is even more critical, as the debts accumulated over the years have led those responsible for the service to warn of possible water cut-offs for those families who do not regularise their payments.
