By Brendan O’Boyle
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Ample rains across Mexico in recent weeks have helped replenish the country’s parched reservoirs, but much of the drought-plagued country’s water supply remains in a deficit, according to data from national water agency CONAGUA.
June was a wetter-than-normal month in a country reeling from several years of drought. Over 148 millimeters (5.83 inches) of rain fell in Mexico between May 31 and June 29, which was 51.3% above the historical average for the period.
Mexico City, where generations of mismanagement have made the city built on a lake prone to both flooding and water shortages, had its wettest June in 21 years, the city’s water management secretariat said.
Still, national water storage levels at the dams monitored by CONAGUA were 5% below the national historical average at the end of June.
“However, in recent weeks, that volume deficit has decreased due to the rainfall,” CONAGUA hydrology official Daniel Arriaga said in a presentation.
The Cutzamala reservoir system, critical for Mexico City and the surrounding metropolitan region, was 52.1% full as of June 30, an improvement over a year earlier, when reservoirs were 26.7% full.
Meanwhile, 97 of the 210 dams monitored by CONAGUA remain below 50% capacity. Those 97 dams serve reservoirs that account for 42% of the system’s total volume.
Looking ahead, CONAGUA’s outlook suggests limited relief for Mexico’s nagging water troubles, with July to September rains expected to be only average or below average in many parts of the country.
However, CONAGUA forecasts above-average rain in July and August in parts of the northwest, most of which is currently experiencing moderate to extreme drought.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by David Gregorio)
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