Mexico City: Water Shortages and a sinking city
Like many other fast-growing cities around the world, Mexico City is faci of severe water shortages. Many of its 20 million inhabitants receive only one hour piped water per week. Others receive none at all for weeks on end. Those who can afford the expense build their own home water system to catch and keep rainwater to supplement the city water. The situation, according to international experts, is the result of combination of factors. First, the system of pipes is old and poorl managed, with the result that the pipes lose almost 40 percent of the water that they distribute around the city. Second, the demand for water, which has grown with the rapid population growth, far exceeds the supply. Furthermore, the water is consumed not only by residents for household use, but also by thirsty industries such as beer-brewers and soft-drink bottlers, and there is little incentive for them to conserve' or recycle wate