President Claudia Sheinbaum on Saturday visited Durango’s new Guadalupe Victoria water treatment plant construction site. The plant will provide clean water to Durango city in the northern Mexican state of Durango. The facility is set to begin operations on March 25.
Sheinbaum was mainly in Durango to launch the Mujeres Bienestar (Womens’ Well-Being) pension program for women between ages 60 and 64. During her visit, she announced new programs and investments for the state in water and roads and also a program to turn Durango into one of Mexico’s major grower of beans, as part of a food self-sufficiency initiative for the country.
“We visited the construction site of the Guadalupe Victoria water treatment plant, which will provide quality water to the city of Durango. We announced that this year construction will begin on the El Tunal II dam to guarantee water of quality and quantity for the region,” Sheinbaum wrote on the X social media site.
The “Healthy Water for La Laguna” program was launched by former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in a bid to deliver clean water, free of contaminants such as fluoride and arsenic, to people living in the Durango and Coahuila states. La Laguna is a metropolitan zone including the cities of Francisco I. Madero, Matamoros and Torreón in Coahuila and the cities of Gómez Palacios and Lerdo in Durango.
The program has been rolled out in four municipalities in Durango to date – Mapimí, Tlahualilo, Lerdo and Gómez Palacio, with more to follow in 2025.
The water treatment plant has “a very innovative technology, developed by [The National Water Commission] Conagua itself, which will allow the water that comes from the Guadalupe Victoria dam to pass through this water treatment plant and to reach the city of Durango,” said Sheinbaum in a video explaining the project.
This will also allow “the wells that are currently contaminated, mainly by fluoride, to stop being used and for there to be better quality water and more water” for that city, stated Sheinbaum.
The director of Conagua Efraín Morales and Durango’s governor Esteban Villegas accompanied the president at the Guadalupe Victoria site.
During the visit, Morales said he expects the water treatment plant to supply over 200,000 inhabitants in Durango City with clean water. The program supports Sheinbaum’s government’s aim to improve access to water, he said.
The federal government has earmarked over 7.3 billion pesos to improve Durango’s water infrastructure during Sheinbaum’s six-year term. It will collaborate with the state government to carry out works in the 39 municipalities, prioritizing access to drinking water and flood prevention.
Morales stressed that 76% of Mexico’s water is currently destined for the agricultural sector. The government is also investing in an irrigation technology program aimed at producing more food with less water.
The Tunal II Dam
In addition to the Guadalupe Victoria facility, Sheinbaum and Morales discussed the development of the El Tunal II dam, which is part of the 2025 National Water Plan.
The dam will be built over three years and is expected to supply Durango with drinking water for the next 50 years.
The government will invest an estimated 4 billion pesos in the project, which is expected to help bolster Durango’s economy.
With reports from La Jornada, Por Esto!, El Siglo de Durango and POSTA
