People living in Mexico's Baja region have been without water for anywhere between 24 hours and several days. Officials there are blaming the shortage on limited supply and infrastructure problems. But, some believe a contributing factor may be Mexico selling some of its water to Otay Mesa.
About 140,000 households and businesses in the Tijuana and Rosarito region are impacted by this shortage. It's an issue that's plagued Mexico for years. But, does Otay Mesa have anything to do with the problem?
To answer that question, we turned to Mark Watton, general manager of the Otay Water District. Mark says back in 2010, the district began environmental reviews on a plan to build a three and a half mile pipeline to transport desalinated water from a plant in Rosarito, Mexico to its reservoir in Otay Mesa.
More than four million dollars was spent on those studies, but the plans eventually fizzled and, at this point, no plant has been built.
So, we can verify Mexico is not selling or providing water to Otay Mesa. What about in the future? Is it a possibility? According to mark, there's nothing pending, but he won't rule it out.
So, yes, it's a possibility. As for the water issues Mexico is facing, it's a source of frustration for residents there.
A News 8 employee living in Tijuana showed us video of water trickling from her bathroom sink. Another Tijuana resident told us she's had to ration water in pans to get by. Officials there say the water level in the El Carrizo dam is too low, and that some of the pumps within the Colorado River Aqueduct system where their water comes from, have broken down.
Is there a long-term plan to prevent this problem from happening again? We're not sure. We reached out to Mexican officials who did not get back to us by deadline, but Mark tells us he's confident Baja's new Governor Jaime Bonilla Valdez will resolve it soon.
VERIFY: What’s causing the water shortage in Tijuana?
About 140,000 households and businesses in the Tijuana and Rosarito region are impacted by this shortage. It's an issue that's plagued Mexico for years.