When the rain is more than a “everything flooded again” meme
Imagine this: a water secretary, a mayor and a water plan sound like the beginning of a bad joke, but in reality it is the plot of what could be Netflix’s next hit: “How to save CDMX from drowning in its own memes”. José Mario Esparza, the unsung hero of this story (or at least the one with the longest title), met with José Octavio Rivero, the mayor of Milpa Alta, to talk about something that should matter to all of us: how to prevent the city from becoming a real version of Waterworld.
The plan: hold the water before it holds us back
It turns out that the Comprehensive Water Plan is not just a boring document collecting dust on a desk. According to Esparza, this will benefit the Mountain Villages of Milpa Alta and San Gregorio in The project includes systems to retain and regulate rainwater, which basically means that we will no longer have to navigate the streets by truck every rainy season.
And yes, all this comes with the seal of approval of Clara Brugada, the head of government who, apparently, is tired of CDMX looking more like a water park than a functional city. “To completely solve the problems associated with rain” sounds ambitious, but someone has to try, right?
For his part, Mayor Rivero released the jewel of the day: “that the natural channels be taken care of as they should be”. That is, the water flows where it needs to flow and not through your living room. Revolutionary, we know. He also mentioned the cleaning of ravines and the use of rainwater, because, apparently, the 21st century is here to stay and it is time to stop treating rainwater as a public enemy.
Of course, the historical drama between San Gregorio and Xochimilco seems to have more chapters than Doctor Who, but with less time travel and more floods. Rivero summed it up perfectly: “it is a historical problem.” Spoiler: all the problems in this city are historical.
Will it work? Who knows. But at least it sounds better than continuing to cross your fingers every time the sky turns gray. And if not, we will always have the consolation of uploading photos of the flooded streets to Instagram with the hashtag #CDMXanfibia.
Would you like to see more projects like this? Share this note and let’s make the idea that water can be our ally, not our enemy go viral. And if you want more content on how to survive urban chaos, explore our other stories!
