Nobody goes there … it’s too crowded

Water — or rather no water — is topic number one on the expat circuit right now.  An expat book-buyer said today he couldn’t understand why the water was running out… “after all, there’s nobody in town.”

The rainy season hasn’t started yet (Tlaloc has been teasing us lately, a few drops falling last night, and some clouds moving in this evening) and despite a new reservoir  (flooding out several ejidos, the residents of which  believe — probably correctly — that they were under-compensated for their property), a new city administration that promised to make the chronic water problems their first priority (yeah… right!),  our taps tend to run dry this time of year. And, with the Pacific Ocean (not suitable for drinking) on one side, and the Sinaloan subtropical dry forest (it’s called “dry” for a reason… like it’s semi-arid in the best of times) on the other, there just isn’t a lot of water in this part of the world.

The guy who couldn’t understand why, when the snowbirds are out of town, there are water shortages isn’t stupid, and I’m sure he is otherwise an asset to his fellow man.  Nobody in town?  Just 485,000 or so people who all use water (though certainly not as much as the foreigners, most of whom seem to hail from water-rich places like British Colombia), not to mention a couple of water-intensive industries like a brewery and a couple of canneries.

I’m afraid I have nothing profound to say about this…  though I despair that simply getting across the idea that people in Mexico do a lot of the same needs and wants as my readers (basic things, like flushing the toilet) is too dry a topic for some.