A few days ago, an unusual situation occurred in Culiacan Sinaloa: more than 180 neighborhoods in the south of the city had no drinking water for several days, caused by a problem in the pipes that supply water to the population.

In the history of this city, there are few precedents of situations of this nature where so many neighborhoods were affected for so many days. This situation generated in the first days, a shortage of drinking water especially for commercial establishments. Fortunately, the water shortage did not affect the entire city, but it did cause inconveniences and panic among the affected population.

This brings up the following question; if this chaos was generated by the shortage of only a few days, what would happen if the shortage lasted for a few weeks, or worse, for months? Perhaps we, the population, have not generated so much awareness about water and its care, until today when it affected us in our homes.

The water shortage caused by the lack of rain is a concern every year in the agricultural sector of Sinaloa. This year 2023 is not very encouraging compared to previous years, the rains have not reached the dams and there is a large deficit compared to 2022.

In addition to the aforementioned consequences to the population due to the lack of rainfall, there is a great impact on the state’s economy if the coming agricultural cycle does not develop. The effects on different economic sectors besides agriculture are unquantifiable if there is not enough rain in the coming weeks.

In addition to these effects and as if that were not enough, our organization would be one of the most affected by this situation, since, with not enough water, not as many vegetables would be planted and consequently, the thousands of tons that the horticultural sector annually contributes to the Culiacan Food Bank would not be donated.

According to the latest CONAGUA report, Sinaloa’s dams are at 29% of their capacity, which means 42.2% less than the same period in 2022. This represents a deficit of 6,586 cubic millimeters.

More than 1,000 tons of vegetables are donated to our organization and more than 80,000 people who benefit would be affected if it does not rain sufficiently. However, despite the circumstances, we know that AARC growers and members of the Veggies from Mexico community, with whom we have signed collaboration agreements, use technologies such as drip irrigation, as well as other practices that allow them to make efficient use of water. It is a reality that there is an increasing awareness and demand for the use of water. We hope that the rains arrive in the state, that the agricultural season flows normally, that our horticultural allies can develop their agricultural season without any problems, that donations continue like every year to our organization, and that there is no shortage of water for the population.