March 19-25, 2014
EVERY WEDNESDAY
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LOCAL NEWS
Weekly, Year 01, Number 25, 10,000 Copies,16 Pages
BEACH CLEANUP
DISCOVER MEXICO
Did you know that 240 tons of waste is collected every month form the beaches of Playa del Carmen? PAGE 3
S
ince 1992, the United Nations designated March 22 as the World Water Day and events highlighting the need for water conservation are held around the word. Water supplies in Mexico are already in peril and are at emergency status in some regions. According to the National Population Council (Conapo) it is expected that by 2025 the demand for water will exceed available resources and water supplies in many of the larger cities throughout Mexico will change from having a ‘medium’, to a ‘low’ level of availability. The UN defines water scarcity as less than 1,000 cubic meters of water a year per inhabitant, and Mexico is already considered to
be in this group because of the huge variations of water availability between its 23 states. According to the National Commission of Water (Conagua), the zones with high water scarcity are in the center and northeast areas of the country, due to the dense population and large industrial activity. That marks a considerable difference with south and southeastern areas, which has up to 7 times more water than the at-risk areas of the north, which regularly suffer from restricted water supply hours in order to help preserve dwindling resources. Conapo foresees that by 2015 Mexico’s water crisis will intensify, with the current population of over 120 million (2012) growing annually by 1.2%. Mexico City, Querétaro, Morelia, Cuernavaca, Toluca, Gua-
dalajara, Aguascalientes, Culiacán, Torreón, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and Saltillo will be the most affected cities. The operation manager of the Water and Sewage Commission in Solidaridad, María Eugenia Vivas Ávila, said in an interview with the Playa Times that the Yucatan Peninsula has some of the most secure water resources in the country. It is expected that the water supply to the entire region, which includes Quintana Roo, will be stable for the next 25 years. Playa del Carmen has 20 water pits that pump 24 hours a day with any cuts to supply lasting a maximum of 8 hours, which is normally due to maintenance works to the piping. 98% of the municipality has a running water supply. Vivas said that this year
UN´s slogan for the World Water Day is “More Water, More Energy”. Various activities and events aimed at raising water conservation awareness amongst the population are being organized in Mexico on the run-up to World Water Day and Playa del Carmen is no exception. Music concerts, conferences and fairs are being held involving university and school students. She added that the most important actions needed are; avoiding the contamination of the water table, which effects the quantity and quality of the available supply; using just the required quantity of water and not leaving faucets running, and establishing education programs which will continue to promote water conservation and awareness throughout Mexico.
COMEDY FESTIVAL Comedian, Tim Harmston, talks exclusively to The Playa Times about the upcoming 2014 Akumal Comedy Festival. PAGE 12
DINING OUT
BY GEMA GARCÍA
CHILTEPIN RESTAURANT This week we visited an out of the way seafood restaurant, El Chilepin Marisquillos, see what we think... PAGE 9