The National Water Commission (Conagua) announced that due to maintenance work on the Cutzamala water system, water will be shut off in parts of Mexico City and the state of México beginning at 2 a.m. on Saturday. 

The shutdown will last 24 hours, Conagua director Blanca Jiménez said, and will affect some 5 million people. 

Jiménez said various pumping stations need maintenance and that changes will be made to a massive piece of pipe known as an “inverted K,” which was never properly installed. The water treatment plant in Los Berros will also be cleaned and serviced. 

Jiménez said the northern and southern aqueducts that supply the Valley of México will operate normally.

Conscious of the effect of a water stoppage on the care of coronavirus patients, 12 water trucks will be made available for affected hospitals in 11 boroughs, Mexico City water director Rafael Carmona said. Five hundred water trucks will service affected neighborhoods. 

In the state of México, the municipalities of Atizapán, Coacalco, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Ecatepec, Huixquilucan, Naucalpan, Nezahualcóyotl, Nicolás Romero, Tlalnepantla, Toluca, Tultitlán, Tecámac and Acolman will be without water on Saturday and into Sunday as the water commission works on the hydraulic infrastructure in six municipalities.

Public Works Minister Rafael Díaz Leal Barrueta said water will be distributed free of charge via 50 tanker trucks from Saturday through Wednesday for the 2.05 million people affected in Mexico state. 

Some 75,000 people were left without water while repairs were made to the Cutzamala system after it was damaged by the powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Oaxaca on June 23. 

Jiménez asked residents to conserve and store water in advance of the shutdown and to avoid throwing garbage in the streets as it can clog the drainage system. 

Source: El Universal (sp), Infobae (sp), Milenio (sp)