EN Sem-03-003 (Lake Chapala I

Please cite as: CEC. 2013. Factual Record for Submission SEM-03-003 (Lake Chapala II). Montreal, Canada: Commission for Environmental Cooperation. 188 pp. This report was prepared by the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s Submission on Enforcement Matters Unit. The information contained herein does not necessarily reflect the views of the CEC, or the governments of Canada, Mexico or the United States of America. Reproduction of this document in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes may be made without special permission from the CEC Secretariat, provided acknowledgment of the source is made. The CEC would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication or material that uses this document as a source. Except where otherwise noted, this work is protected under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-No Derivative Works License. © 2013-2015, Commission for Environmental Cooperation ISBN: 978-2-89635-791-8 (print) / 978-2-89700-084-4 (e-version) Disponible en français – ISBN: 978-2-89635-790-1 / 978-2-89700-086-8 (v. numérique) Disponible en español – ISBN: 978-2-89635-792-5 / 978-2-89700-085-1 (v. electrónica) Legal deposit—Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2015 Legal deposit—Library and Archives Canada, 2015 Publication Details Publication type: Factual Record Publication date: 22 January 2013 Original language: Spanish Review and quality assurance procedures: Final Party review: May–August 2012 Cover photo: FerdeSanta on flickr.com For more information: Commission for Environmental Cooperation 393, rue St-Jacques Ouest, bureau 200 Montreal (Quebec) Canada H2Y 1N9 t 514.350.4300 f 514.350.4314 [email protected] / www.cec.org Factual Record for Submission SEM-03-003 (Lake Chapala II) Prepared pursuant to Article 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation 9 October 2012 Publicly released on 22 January 2013 Factual Record for Submission SEM-03-003 (Lake Chapala II) Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 1 2. Summary of the Submission 3 3. Summary of Mexico’s Response 4 3.1 Systematic and ongoing monitoring of water quality 5 3.2 Civic participation 6 3.3 Operation of the watershed councils 7 3.4 Criteria for the sustainable use of water and aquatic ecosystems 8 3.5 Inspection and vigilant monitoring 9 4. Scope of the factual record 9 4.1 Proceedings 120/2003 (Guadalupe Lara Lara), 41/2004 (Sociedad Cooperativa de Producción Insurgentes de la Isla de Mezcala), and 67/2004 (Guadalupe Lara Lara)11 4.2 Geographical scope 12 4.3 Laws and provisions primarily addressing water distribution 15 4.4 Environmental Law in Council Resolution 08-01 15 5. Information-gathering process 16 6. Environmental law in question 18 6.1 Preservation and monitoring of water quality 19 6.1.1 Preservation of water quality 19 6.1.2 National Water Quality Monitoring Network 20 6.2 Civic participation 20 6.3 Formulation of ecological restoration programs 21 6.4 Inspection and vigilant monitoring 21 Factual Record for Submission SEM-03-003 (Lake Chapala II) iii 7. Description of the area of interest 22 7.1 Introduction 22 7.2 Hydrogeological history of the area 26 7.3 Description of Lake Chapala 26 7.3.1 Importance of light 27 7.3.2 Temperature and currents 28 7.3.3 Sediments 28 7.3.4 Biochemistry and trophic status of Lake Chapala 29 7.4 Description of the Santiago and Verde Rivers, and their main tributaries in the area of interest 35 7.4.1 Santiago River 35 7.4.2 Verde River 38 8. Measures taken by Mexico to enforce LGEEPA, Articles 5, paragraph XI, and 133 in relation to preservation of the quality of national waters and to water quality monitoring in the area of interest 41 8.1 Mechanisms to preserve quality of national waters 41 8.2 Preservation and monitoring of water quality in Mexico and in the area of interest 47 8.3 Preservation and monitoring of water quality monitoring and preservation for Lake Chapala 58 8.4 Preservation and monitoring of water quality in the Santiago River 60 8.4.1 Pollution sources in the Santiago River basin 61 8.5 Preservation and monitoring of water quality in the Verde River 72 8.5.1 Verde River pollution sources 72 8.5.2 Data from special water quality monitoring studies 81 8.6 Wastewater treatment projects 85 8.7 Other relevant information on water quality in the area of interest 88 9. Measures taken by Mexico to enforce LGEEPA Articles 5, paragraph XVI, 18, and 157 regarding guarantees of effective civic participation in matters of water quality 93 10. Measures taken by Mexico to enforce LGEEPA Articles 161 and 170 and LAN Article 9, paragraphs I and XIII, regarding inspection and vigilant monitoring 99 iv Commission for Environmental Cooperation 11. Measures taken by Mexico to enforce LGEEPA Article 78 regarding the formulation of ecological restoration programs 102 12. Final Note 104 TABLES Table 1: Populations of Municipalities in the Relevant Segments of the Verde and Santiago River Basins 24 Table 2: Water Quality Data for Lake Chapala (2001–2006) 30 Table 3: Primary productivity in Lake Chapala 32 Table 4: Autotrophic phytoplankton productivity versus heterotrophic bacterial productivity in Lake Chapala (1997) 33 Table 5: Tributaries of the Santiago River in the area of interest 38 Table 6: Tributaries of the Verde River in the area of interest 40 Table 7: Reclassification of Receiving Bodies of Water 43 Table 8: Reclassification of Receiving Bodies of Water (tributaries) 44 Table 9: Maximum Allowable Pollution Levels for Discharges of Wastewater (Basic Contaminants) into Receiving Bodies as per Table 2 of NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996 46 Table 10: Maximum Allowable Limits for Discharges of Heavy Metals into Receiving Bodies as per Table 3 of NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996 46 Table 11: National Monitoring Network sites in 2007 49 Table 12: Conagua water quality classification 51 Table 13: Numbers of monitoring stations, sampling events, and water quality tests performed for Lake Chapala and the Santiago and Verde Rivers from 2003 through 2009 53 Table 14: Prescribed sampling frequency at RNMCA monitoring stations in the area of interest 55 Table 15: Water quality reported for the Santiago River at monitoring sites operated by CEA-Jalisco according to the Conagua classification 56 Table 16: RNMCA monitoring stations in Lake Chapala 59 Table 17: Santiago River RNMCA monitoring stations in the area of interest, with map coordinates and monitoring frequency 61 Table 18: Pollutant levels discharged in wastewater treatment plant effluents into the Santiago River basin (t/year) 66 Table 19: Pollutant levels discharged in stormwater by the San Gaspar, Osorio, and San Andrés outfalls 67 Factual Record for Submission SEM-03-003 (Lake Chapala II)v Table 20: Classification of wastewater discharges into the Verde River basin 73 Table 21: Pollutants mass from livestock source effluent entering surface receiving bodies in the Verde river basin 76 Table 22: Hog production in municipalities of the area of interest 76 Table 23: Hog numbers in the Verde River basin 77 Table 24: Main findings regarding discharges from hog farms in the Verde River basin 79 Table 25: Pollutant levels in wastewater treatment plant effluent discharged into the Verde River basin (t/year) 80 Table 26: Localities in the Verde River basin with populations over 2,000 without wastewater treatment infrastructure (2005) 80 Table 27: Mean levels and variables of pollution monitored in the Verde and Lagos Rivers 83 Table 28: Pollution indicators for the Verde and Santiago River basins 85 Table 29: Initial investment, operating, and maintenance costs associated with reclassification of the Santiago and Verde Rivers 86 Table 30: Information on El Ahogado and Agua Prieta wastewater treatment plant projects 87 Table 31: Comparison of water balances in Lake Chapala, May 1997–April 1998 (Mm3)89 Table 32: List of Entities for Consultation as per the General Strategy for Recovery and Sustainability of the Lerma-Chapala Watershed 96 Table 33: Indicators and goals of the Water Program of the State of Jalisco (excerpt) 100 FIGURES Figure 1: Timeline of Proceedings cited in Council Resolution 08-01 11 Figure 2: Location of the Arcediano Project with respect to the Bajo Lerma Subregion in the State of Jalisco 13 Figure 3: Area of Interest of the Factual Record 14 Figure 4: Regions in the Hydrological Region 12 Lerma-Santiago 23 Figure 5: Municipalities in the Area of Interest 25 Figure 6: Conceptual model of energetic processes in Lake Chapala 35 Figure 7: Chapala-Guadalajara aqueduct and main structures 36 vi Commission for Environmental Cooperation Figure 8: Location of the Santiago River from its source northeast of Lake Chapala to the Arcediano site 37 Figure 9: Location of the Verde River basin in the State of Jalisco 39 Figure 10: Classification of the Verde and Santiago Rivers under the LFD until 2008 45 Figure 11: Numbers of RNMCA monitoring stations (1982-2009) 48 Figure 12: RNMCA water quality monitoring stations in the area of interest 54 Figure 13: Sampling points with map coordinates for CEA-Jalisco water quality studies 57 Figure 14: Lake Chapala RNMCA monitoring stations 58 Figure 15: Santiago River RNMCA monitoring stations in the area of interest 60 Figure 16: The Santiago River and its tributaries 62 Figure 17: Main inflows to the Santiago River and RNMCA monitoring stations 63 Figure 18: Segments of the Santiago River exhibiting water quality deterioration and recovery 71 Figure 19: RNMCA Monitoring stations in the Verde River, coordinates and monitoring frequency 72 Figure 20:

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