The Cutzamala water supply system serves the growing needs of Mexico City's metropolitan area

Abstract

Water supply to the metropolitan area of Mexico City has required the completion of an outstanding and expensive hydraulic engineering construction project, the Cutzamala System, which will permit the transfer of water resources from neighboring basins into the Valley of Mexico. The water supply system is necessary because local sources of supply have become insufficient to meet the growing demand and, consequently, have suffered from severe overexploitation. This overuse will diminish when new projects such as the Cutzamala System contribute the necessary flow demanded by the various sectors of the population. This construction work posed a great challenge to Mexican engineering because all of the study, design, and construction aspects, as well as all of the equipment and material needed for its execution are products of national technology: only the motors, spheric valves and some electro-mechanical devices had to be imported. This important project is being executed by the Bureau of Agriculture and Water Resources through its Water Commission for the Valley of Mexico.