President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announced the entry into force of the Decree of Administrative Facilities on Water, a measure aimed at supporting small and medium agricultural producers to regularize their water concession titles. The president highlighted that this decree fulfills a campaign commitment and will allow producers to access government support, credits, and programs.
The Government of Mexico, through the National Water Commission (Conagua), reported that the review and reorganization of concessions has recovered 4 billion cubic meters of water—an amount equivalent to up to four times the consumption of Mexico City. Most of these volumes were voluntarily returned by business owners who exceeded their concession limits.
Sheinbaum emphasized that this measure constitutes an act of de-privatization of a strategic national resource and will allow those with wells or irrigation water rights to quickly regularize their status. The decree applies to titles that expired between October 1, 2017, and March 1, 2025, granting a three-month period after its publication for interested parties to begin their process at the Digital One-Stop Water Procedures Window or at modules installed nationwide.
Conagua Director General Efraín Morales López reported that there are currently 17 strategic water projects under the National Water Plan, eight of which are already underway, three set to begin in the coming days, and six in the socialization and contracting stage. Among them are projects such as the Guadalupe Victoria Aqueduct in Tamaulipas, the Solís–León Aqueduct in Guanajuato, and the Comprehensive Plan for the Eastern Zone of the State of Mexico.
Mauricio Rodríguez Alonso, Deputy Director of Water Administration, detailed that out of more than 536,000 titles reviewed, around 163,000 are expired. The decree will provide legal certainty to small producers with concessions of up to 500,000 m³. Meanwhile, Felipe Zataráin Mendoza, Deputy Director of Potable Water, Drainage and Sanitation, listed upcoming projects including the Campeche Aquaférico, the Tunal II Dam in Durango, and the La Cangrejera-Coatzacoalcos Aqueduct in Veracruz.
