WHILE air pollution and smog are nothing new to them, Mexico City residentsnow have to contend with a disasterwhich could leave them literally dying ofthirst. The aquifer, the main source ofwater for the capital city's nearly twomillion inhabitants, is running dry'. SaysAlfonso Martinez Baca, head of MexicoCity's water authority, "Mexico City'smost pressing problem is not the smog,but the scarcitv of water".
Two-thiris of the water supply ismet by the aquifer while the rest ispumped by darns some 120 km away.The current state of affairs is beingattributed to a faulty water networkwhich leaks nearly 30 per cent of water aday. Measures to bill the consumers forusing water have never got off theground, fearing a political backlash.This means that about half of the city'spopulation uses water for free while therest pay a flat tariff based on meterswhich are read once in three vears. Thewater authority, thus, operaies with adeficit of us $400 million a year, barelvenough to manage the water network.