Los Cabos councilman blasts official response as water crisis deepens

 

As Los Cabos faces a worsening drinking water crisis, PAN councilman Celestino Atienzo has sharply criticized what he described as the government’s ineffective response, warning that access to water cannot continue to be treated as a secondary issue or as a benefit reserved for only a few.

Atienzo said the shortages now affecting many neighborhoods across the municipality are the result of years of lagging infrastructure, poor long-term planning and a clear lack of coordination among municipal, state and federal authorities. Against that backdrop, he questioned the federal government’s decision to shut down wells without first putting immediate backup measures in place to ensure water service for residents.

He singled out the local representative of Mexico’s National Water Commission, arguing that enforcing the law should not be detached from the social reality facing hundreds of families in Los Cabos. In his view, closing off water sources without addressing the underlying emergency reflects a bureaucratic approach that is out of touch with the urgency on the ground.

The councilman also warned that Los Cabos cannot sustain its rapid tourism, economic and population growth under a water policy that remains reactive, inadequate and driven, he said, more by political and administrative calculations than by any real commitment to the public good.

Given that reality, Atienzo called for a break from old patterns and urged officials to move toward innovative solutions that have already been tested in water-stressed regions around the world. He pointed to seawater desalination, advanced treatment systems and water reuse as realistic options to diversify supply and build a more sustainable water future. He cited places such as Israel, Perth and San Diego as examples where those strategies have helped strengthen water security and reduce dependence on increasingly strained sources.

In his public statement, Atienzo called for an immediate review of well-closure procedures, the removal of administrative roadblocks preventing the city from securing needed permits, stronger emergency water deliveries to the hardest-hit neighborhoods, faster progress on infrastructure projects and genuine coordination among all three levels of government.

He concluded by saying Los Cabos can no longer afford delays or tone-deaf decisions on water policy. Ensuring a stable water supply, he argued, is not only a basic responsibility of government but also essential to social fairness, urban stability and the long-term future of the municipality.