Mexico City has experiencing years of low rainfall, leaving it often unable to supply its citizens with water.

The city, originally built on lakes and wetlands, is now covered in concrete and asphalt. Another factor is that Mexico City loses about 40% of its water through leaks.

The shortages have sent the price of water shooting up. One resident told ABC News that he now spends about 25% of his income on buying water. And in 2024 water was rationed in 284 of the city’s neighbourhoods.

But the problem extends well beyond Mexico City. Water shortages are projected to affect 30 of its 32 states by the year 2050, which is forecast to affect 40-80% of its population.

Despite all of these water shortages, Mexico is being forced to send part of its water supply to the US because of a just over 80-year-old agreement that was negotiated when water was less scarce. The 1944 treaty governs the allocation of water from the Rio Grande and Colorado River. Under the agreement, Mexico must send 430 million cubic metres of water per year from the Rio Grande to the US, and........

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