In 1992 and 2004, Mexico initiated dramatic water policy reforms that reshaped the institutions and structures for managing water in urban and rural contexts. Mexico’s new National Water Law (or Ley de Aguas Nacionales) introduced a “new water culture” focused on a management role for state and municipal governments, rather than for the federal government; increased participation by local water users in water policy formulation; an emphasis on full-cost recovery principle for paying for water (“user pays” principle); the introduction of market mechanisms such as formal water markets, water banks, and a public water rights registry; and an emphasis on private sector participation in providing and financing urban and rural water services. The new law also created a national network of major river basin councils intended to promote integrated river basin management. The new law also operates within the contexts of society and the environment.
This project investigated potential uses for climate information within municipal and state-level urban water management systems and the extent urban water managers have access to this information in Sonora.