Groundwater refers to the layers of water that accumulate in the soil at a certain depth. It can refer to free aquifers or saturation zones created by rainfall.
Juan Vázquez Montalvo, a meteorologist, and member of the Institutional Committee for the Attention of Extreme Meteorological Phenomena (Ciafeme), commented that currently, the water level of the groundwater is above 1.72 centimeters, which means it has not yet reached zero level.
The specialist from the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY) pointed out that, of the historical maximum of 5.20 centimeters above mean sea level reached by the groundwater three years ago, it has only decreased by 3.48 centimeters. Therefore, there is a possibility that this year the zero level will not be reached.
He explained that the cyclonic events of 2020 helped not only to recover the groundwater level but also to cause it to overflow. Before the impact of these meteorological phenomena, Yucatán had a deficit in the groundwater level of 1.80 centimeters, which caused the water sources to dry up.
“In 2020, we were at minus 1.80 centimeters, and that was causing water sources to dry up, some areas to no longer have water, and, worst of all, the drinking water supply wells in the cities were also running dry because the suction cones were reaching levels where water could not be extracted,” explained the expert in an interview.
With the start of the rainy season, Vázquez Montalvo commented that there is a risk of the aquifer overflowing again if another tropical cyclone brings rainfall that accumulates up to 600 millimeters of water. This possibility is high considering that these phenomena are leaving enormous amounts of water.
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