One of the world’s most populous cities is almost without water as many go “days if not weeks” without water

Mexico City is home to nearly 22 million people. But for months the growing city has suffered from dwindling water supplies – and now one of the world’s most populous cities is on the brink of ‘day zero’, when there will no longer be enough water to supply residents.

Citing the Water Basin Organization of the Valley of Mexico, local publication La Razón de México reported last week that officials fear that “day zero” — when the Cutzamala system will no longer have enough water for residents — could come on June 26 and continue until September. Local residents are already struggling to have enough water, with many spending “days, if not weeks, without running water in their homes,” CBS News contributor Enrique Acevedo said.

“The city has a water shortage, water management that we haven’t seen in at least a decade,” he said. “The gyms here in Mexico City and other public parks have had to start limiting the number of guests they have that shower and use their facilities because a lot of people were taking advantage of their memberships to use water in those facilities.”

Local resident Juan Ortega told Reuters in January that among the rules put in place to save water was “the cars are no longer washed”.

“The garden, the grass is never watered, only the plants so they don’t die,” he said. “We’re going to start reusing water from washing machines for irrigation.”

Arturo Gracia, who runs a cafe in the area, said his business had to pay for a water truck to deliver water to toilets and other essentials.

“It affects us a lot,” he said. “And I don’t think it’s just us. It’s happening in several neighborhoods.”

Those problems were exacerbated as Mexico City battled high temperatures last week. Mexico City’s SACMEX water system reported on February 27 that temperatures as high as nearly 85 degrees Fahrenheit were recorded. This week, temperatures are expected to reach near 90 degrees Fahrenheit with minimal cloud cover, according to The Weather Channel.

It is an “unprecedented situation”, Rafael Carmona, director of SACMEX, told Reuters, with the lack of rain a major factor. Rainfall in the region has declined over the past four to five years, he said, leading to low storage in local dams. The lack of overall water in the water supply systems, combined with the large population, has created “something that we have not experienced under this administration, nor in previous administrations,” he said.

Most of Mexico is experiencing some form of drought, with many areas experiencing the highest levels of “extreme” and “exceptional,” according to the country’s drought monitor. In October, 75 percent of the country experienced drought, the Associated Press reported, while the country’s rainy season doesn’t start until around May.

In addition to drought, Acevedo said “poor water management” is also a major contributor to the problem.

“We had a lot of underwater leaks… Some figures suggest that up to 40% of the water that was used in the city came from underground leaks. There are also some leaks in residential buildings,” he said.

Several leaks were reported by SACMEX in early February, which the supplier said it was working to fix. Many of these leaks are “caused by changes in hydraulic network pressure,” SACMEX said.

However, not everyone believes that “day zero” will come so soon. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the government would be able to increase water supplies enough to avoid a similar event this year, La Razón de México reported. Other researchers believe this is something that could happen in the coming years.

“It’s not like we’re headed for day zero,” Acevedo said, “but we certainly haven’t seen things as bad as they are right now in a while.”