Mexico City is running short of water supplies

By Nicholas Casey
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
2:00 a.m. September 13, 2009

MEXICO CITY — This megacity — which was built on the bed of a lake — may be close to running out of water.

One of the principal reservoirs that feeds Mexico City, the Cutzamala dam system, is nearly half-empty and continuing to drop. Water shut-offs have become routine in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods.

A respite came this week with a few days of heavy rain. But with the country facing what could be one of its driest years in nearly seven decades, the government is running ads with a dire prediction: “February 2010: The City May Run Out of Water.â€