Surviving Mexico City’s Water Crisis: Alina’s Story

This article is an excerpt from an episode of the Changing Planet Justice Podcast. Listen to the full story here.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that water elegantly destroys. Simultaneously life-giving and deadly, the subject of poetry and particle physics, water is a paradox for scientists and philosophers alike. It's no wonder water has captivated humankind on a near-spiritual level for millennia. Even if you don't worship it, you can't escape it. H2O covers 71% of the earth's surface, and the human body is 60% water. If you think about it, we're all just bits of skin and bones and stars bobbing around in a watery orb.

In the United States, water is trendy. It is branded, packaged, and marketed as if there is more to the recipe than just two hydrogens and an oxygen. TikTok stars rattle off its cosmetic superpowers: It tightens, brightens, cleanses, and lifts! The popular reusable water bottle brand Stanley is worth $750 million. Liquid Death, a canned water company, has stolen the hearts of Americans with its grungy bad boy marketing. Seemingly overnight, some skillful branding transformed the world's blandest drink into a sexy beverage with the aesthetic of a motorcycle gang. Even if we don't buy into the gimmicky branding, water consumption is at the forefront of Gen Z culture. Many of us habitually lug squat metal bottles from class to class, like utilitarian security blankets.

There's something off-putting about the notion that our affection for reusable bottles is mainly a social norm. How is it that we can be water connoisseurs, attuned to the flavor nuances between the gym fountain and a basement tap, but ignorant of the pollutants that threaten Virginia's very own Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that potable water has become a cultural phenomenon, our planet's lakes, rivers, oceans, and ice caps are in more danger than ever. As the saying goes, you never miss the water till the well runs dry. For Mexico City, that old adage is painfully literal, as climate change and government mismanagement collide in one of the most dangerous water crises on Earth.

I spoke to Alina Feldman, a 20-year-old student from Mexico City, about how her community experiences the impacts of climate change. She said, “Most days, it is very hot when it shouldn't be that way. Also, seasons of the year are not well established, and it is very confusing. We have to get used to such abrupt changes in climate."

When the planet is parched, strange things begin to occur. Built by the Aztecs atop ancient clay lakebeds, Mexico City is sinking. During droughts, its taps, when they work at all, drool yellow sludge. Government promised water deliveries arrive late, if ever, fueling violent skirmishes and even kidnappings. And in the drought of 2007, the earth itself seemed to demand a human sacrifice when a 45-foot deep sinkhole yawned open and swallowed a manhole. The ground had been weakened by excessive water extraction and unusually dry soil. This past summer, the city braced for day zero, when the taps would stop running altogether. A staggering 40% of remaining potable water is lost through leakages in the city's inefficient pumping network. Yet the government continues to pour money into urban expansion, rather than investing in sustainable infrastructure to replace the flailing centralized water system.

Here's what Alina said about the government. "The truth is, I don't know what their plans have been to address this problem, but I haven't seen changes to fix it. I think they should pay more attention to the effects of climate change in the country."

During our interview, Alina told me that lower income communities are disproportionately affected by the water shortage, while more affluent neighborhoods remain relatively unscathed. “People who live in marginalized areas of the country suffer much more from the consequences of climate change, since these areas are not well prepared and frequently destroyed by natural disasters."

The state's solution, trucks toting expensive tanks of water through Mexico City's parched neighborhoods, actually reinforces economic disparities between historically poor and rich communities. Cash-strapped households primarily impacted by the crisis are forced to spend over $100 a tank, increasing their monthly expenses by up to 30 percent. Meanwhile, some wealthier residents maintain access to a free supply of tap water.

Will the municipal government continue prioritizing profit-driven expansion, or recognize that water is its most valuable liquid asset? The wrong decision will cost lives. However, government resource allocation is a high-stakes balancing act.

Every decision carries weight, and funding one priority inevitably means diverting resources from another. Some citizens argue that focusing on more pressing issues could have a greater impact on the city. Alina shared, "I think other issues are more important for the government right now. As you say, economic and political matters are more relevant and a priority from my point of view."

Alina told me about grassroots organizations that stepped in to support their communities, filling the gap left by a lack of meaningful government action. "There is a youth group called Cadena, part of the Jewish community of Mexico, that it is responsible for going to these areas affected by natural disasters. And they help as many people as possible, giving clothes, food, blankets, books, and a lot of help.”

Yet even with support from nonprofits like Cadena, Mexico City residents remain deeply unsettled by the escalating impacts of climate change. No amount of preparation could have fully equipped communities or organizations for the life-threatening crisis that unfolded in their city.

Alina explained, "It was a period where we didn't know what was going to happen. People were very scared about running out of water since the reserves were running out and we didn't know what to do, since thanks to climate change, it had not rained for a long time."

This isn't just a story about Mexico. It's a warning. Climate change and poor water management don't just dry up rivers. They crack societies wide open. So the real question isn't just who has water. It's who gets left behind when it's gone.