A study conducted by Mexico's national statistics institute Inege has found water availability in the country totals 4.65Bm3, which is low compared to other nations, the entity said on its website.
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In addition, 104 of the country's 653 aquifers and underground reservoirs are over exploited, with more than 60% of the overall supply being extracted for human consumption, industrial use and irrigation for agriculture per year.
The entity also warned that underground water reserves in the country are dwindling at a rate of around 6,000m3/y due to over exploitation.
Inege mentioned statistics from the 2006 World Water Forum, held in capital Mexico City, which show that 76.8% of the country's consumption goes to the agricultural sector, which is ironically the biggest polluter of water reserves.
The data also shows that the industrial sector consumes less water than the overall population, with the former consuming 9.29% of all available resources and the latter 13.8%.
The data concluded that the country's per capita water availability reached 4,416m3/y.
The lowest availability was detected in México state's (Edomex) Mexico valley region, with 144m3/y per capita, and the highest was registered along the country's southern border, with 24,450m3/y per capita.
Inege's report echoes a study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which found that Mexico urgently needs to address issues such as water scarcity, quality of underground water resources and the contamination of water by the agricultural sector.
WATER USE GROWS FASTER THAN THE ECONOMY
Meanwhile, overall water consumption in Mexico will grow 6% in 2008, while the country's economy will only expand by 2.8%, Grupo Financiero Interacciones analyst Marcela Muñoz was quoted as saying by paper El Diario.
The analyst referred to a UN report ranking Mexico as the world's second biggest consumer of water, with an annual per capita consumption of 169l, adding up to a total of 17.7Bl/y.
In addition, sales of bottled water are expected to surpass sales of carbonated beverages in 2008, as the former will grow 6% and the latter 3%.
Inege also mentioned that sales of bottled water grew 251% from 1999 to 2007, due to a change in consumption habits fueled by uncertainty over the quality of potable water.
Muñoz also cited studies carried out by Mexico's market research agencies association, which found that 77% of Mexico City residents buy bottled water.
