The representative of the group “Ciudadanos Hartos”, Humberto Reyes Montiel, called on the Yucatan congressmen to put on the table the proposal for the creation of a new Water Law for Yucatan, since the aquifer of Yucatan is facing contamination and there is an urgent need for regulation to mitigate the serious impacts on the health of people and the environment.
Environment
It was this morning at a press conference that the activist informed that he submitted a written request to the State Congress’ official office for the Ecology and Environment Commission to begin the study and analysis of the initiatives related to the state’s water.
“I think it is important that the legislators support this initiative, our aquifer is in danger and all the wealth of the state depends on it”, he said.
It should be noted that the Citizen Scientific Observatory of Water in Yucatan (OCCAY) has held forums and communiqués to raise awareness among the state’s population regarding the contamination problem facing our aquifer and the urgent need for regulation to mitigate the serious impacts on people’s health and the environment.
Freezer
It is worth remembering that precisely on March 23, 2022, Congresswoman Vida Gómez Herrera, presented this initiative before the plenary, which was referred to commissions; but it is currently in the freezer.
Even though requests have been made to debate and create a constitution regulating the care of water contamination, this has not happened, nor is its quality protected and the activities that put it at risk are regulated”, denounced the activist.
Other initiatives
It should be remembered that in November of the same year, it was PRI legislator Karla Franco Blanco who also proposed a similar initiative before the Plenary of the Legislative Branch, to create the Law for the Promotion of the Culture of Water Care in Yucatán.
The congresswoman warned that sadly the water resource was reaching levels that threaten the wellbeing of the planet and its poor care has brought consequences in the present for several parts of the world, as well as the country.
She also stated that climate change has generated an inequality regarding the amount of water that rains per year in one place to another, causing wells and rainwater to be depleted; but it was not enough since the initiative is also in the freezer.
Budget
And if that were not enough, the 2023 Expenditure Budget cut its resources to strategic sectors, such as road safety, the Yucatecan countryside and water quality care; speaking of the latter caused the disappearance of the program “Preservation of Water Quality” which in 2022 had more than 113 million pesos, and for 2023 it was left at zero.
Finally, and in the face of this worrying issue the representative of Movimiento Ciudadano, Vida Gómez Herrera stressed that the aquifer of Yucatán is being limited and is at risk due to factors such as overexploitation, pollution and climate change, which is in fact, a climatic emergency.
“There are authorities who have declared that there are no water problems in Yucatan. These declarations are very regrettable, because they make invisible the populations that do not have water for many hours during the day, or even for weeks without water available,” he said.
He explained that population growth and economic activity have significantly increased the demand for water in the state in recent years. And that this has caused an overexploitation of the subway aquifer.
“Imagine in the midst of the pandemic hearing so many times “wash your hands, wash your hands” and not having water to do so,” he concluded.
TYT Newsroom
