Safe water in Mexico: notices, drought and what to store

Short answer. CENAPRED, Mexico's disaster prevention centre, asks households to keep an emergency backpack for the first 48 hours, sized for two people, and canned food and bottled water for two days ¹². It publishes no litres-per-person figure. For drought, the National Meteorological Service's Drought Monitor maps drought every fortnight, from abnormally dry (D0) to exceptional drought (D4), and lists the municipalities affected ³.

How do I know if my tap water is unsafe?

Know which body supplies water to your address and keep its contact details: Phaenyx found no national publication of boil-water or do-not-drink notices in Mexico.

If you are told the water is unsafe, read What to do during a boil-water notice and Do-not-drink notices. CENAPRED's family plan booklet lists water purification tablets or drops in the household first-aid kit ²; see Water purification and Emergency water filters.

How much water should I store?

CENAPRED asks you to prepare an emergency backpack to face "the first 48 hours after a disaster", designed for two people, with non-perishable food and bottled water ¹. It also suggests a reserve box that lets you get through two more days if the emergency continues ¹. The family plan booklet asks for "canned food and bottled water for two days", checking expiry dates regularly ².

CENAPRED gives no litres-per-person figure. Full details are on our Mexico emergency supplies page; for quantities, see How much water to store per person per day? and Water storage containers.

Is Mexico short of water?

On paper, yes. In WRI's Aqueduct 4.0 model, the population-weighted median of Mexican cities falls in the "extremely high" category for current water stress, stays "extremely high" in the 2050 business-as-usual projection, and is "medium" for drought risk ⁴. These are city medians across a large country: a given town or basin can sit much higher or lower.

To check drought where you live, use the Monitor de Sequía en México, run by the National Meteorological Service (SMN) of CONAGUA ³:

• It has been issued every fortnight since February 2014; the mid-month analysis (issued on the 15th) is used to measure drought across the country ³.
• Its scale runs from abnormally dry (D0) through moderate (D1), severe (D2) and extreme (D3) to exceptional drought (D4) ³.
• A downloadable Excel file lists the municipalities affected by any category from D0 to D4; since 2016 each municipality gets the most intense category observed in it ³.

Phaenyx found no national register of household water restrictions or rationing. For practical steps, see Drought preparedness and No running water.

What if I have a private well?

No official Mexican guidance for households on testing a private well was found. See Private well emergencies.

What should I do after a flood?

Keep your water stock and your local water provider's number in one place, such as a household plan. See Water safety after a flood and Water purification.

Frequently asked questions

How many days of water does Mexico recommend?

CENAPRED says bottled water for two days at home ², plus a backpack for the first 48 hours ¹. It gives no litres figure.

How do I check drought in my municipality?

Download the municipalities file from the SMN Drought Monitor; it lists the municipalities affected by any category from D0 to D4 ³.

How often is the Drought Monitor updated?

Every fortnight ³.

Who tells me if I must boil my water?

Keep your local water provider's contact details at hand: Phaenyx found no national notice system for Mexico.