A desert river under siege: Sonora communities say no to new dams

At 8 a.m. connected a sweltering Saturday morning, a convoy of pickups and cars rumbled retired of the upland municipality of Bacoachi, banners fluttering successful the godforsaken wind. Families leaned retired of windows waving signs that work “No to dams!” arsenic the “Megacaravan” began its 262-kilometer trek done the full mountainous region. Along the way, much vehicles joined until astir 70 cars — and immoderate 600 radical — pulled into Hermosillo’s assemblage district. There, metropolis residents were already waiting astatine the steps of the University Museum and Library, nether an unforgiving 45 grade Celsius sun.

For organizers similar Isabel Dorado Auz, a assemblage prof and activistic with Ciudadanía Activa Sonora, the Aug. 30 caravan was much than a protest. It was a surviving enactment of absorption and education.

Why Sonoran residents are protesting caller dam projects

Protesters gathered successful Hermosillo, Sonora, to amusement their absorption to caller dam projects. (Liliam Urías)

That absorption was felt again conscionable a week later, erstwhile President Claudia Sheinbaum visited Hermosillo connected Sept. 6. Río Sonora residents rallied extracurricular her event, echoing the caravan’s telephone for a halt to the authorities government’s program to physique 3 caller dams successful the watershed — Sinoquipe, Puerta del Sol, and Las Chivas — arsenic portion of its Plan Hídrico Sonora. Officials reason the projects are needed to unafraid h2o for Hermosillo, a godforsaken superior of astir 1 cardinal that loses much than fractional of its proviso to leaks. 

Faced with the demonstrators, Governor Alfonso Durazo said the medication was successful dialog with ejidos opposed to the dams. Their discontent, helium argued, stems from a deficiency of information, and helium pledged that “everything we bash volition beryllium done successful statement with the community.”

Community leaders bristle astatine the proposition that they don’t recognize the task — though they welcomed Durazo’s committedness not to determination guardant without assemblage consent. “If we don’t person you, determination volition beryllium nary dams,” the politician told Río Sonora residents, according to a station connected Ciudadanía Activa Sonora’s Facebook page. The radical highlighted the connection successful bold letters, superimposed connected the representation of a free-flowing river.

For communities on the Sonora and San Miguel rivers, the dams correspond an existential threat. Many spot them arsenic a continuation of decades of h2o mismanagement that began agelong earlier the 2014 toxic spill that dumped 40,000 cubic meters of mining discarded into the river. That disaster, inactive unresolved, was invoked repeatedly during the caravan arsenic a cautionary communicative of what happens erstwhile firm and authorities interests override assemblage voices.

Echoes of El Molinito

Farmers present cognize what dams tin bash to a surviving river. Engineer Ismael Limón, ejidatario and erstwhile irrigation territory person successful Molino de Camou, remembers the time successful 1991 erstwhile the Rodolfo Félix Valdés dam — amended known arsenic El Molinito — was inaugurated conscionable upstream from his village.

“As a effect of the operation of El Molinito Dam came the diminution of agriculture,” Limón said. A survey by hydrologist Rolando Díaz Caravantes aboriginal documented the damage. Between 1994 and 2012, irrigated farmland downstream shrank from 9,000 to 3,000 hectares. Downstream of El Molinito, portion of the stream corridor turned to desert, arsenic riparian vegetation gave mode to scrub. “There are communities that don’t person adjacent a azygous driblet of h2o successful their wells.”

Sonoran residents fearfulness caller dams volition permission them with small h2o for cultivation needs. (Liliam Urías)

Limón, who farmed 4 to 5 hectares similar astir of his neighbors, saw his livelihood collapse. “Agriculture and livestock are practically paralyzed due to the fact that we are tiny producers. Families beryllium connected what they turn and connected their animals. But close now, determination is practically nary irrigation h2o for crops.”

Industrial mining vs. cultivation needs

Meanwhile, concern mining — peculiarly Grupo México’s Buenavista del Cobre successful Cananea — ne'er slowed production. “Mining has concessions for much than 50 cardinal cubic meters of h2o astatine the root of the Río Sonora,” Limón noted. “That measurement is capable to capable El Molinito dam successful 2 years.”

Rodolfo Castro Valdez, Conagua’s wide manager for the northwest watershed, responded that successful drought years, Conagua has prioritized municipality proviso implicit agriculture, arsenic the National Water Law requires. He added that downstream of El Molinito, astir 4 cardinal cubic meters stay concessioned for 660 hectares of farmland.

Activists, however, reason that specified percentages obscure the world connected the ground: that aboveground flows successful the Río Sonora are minimal, leaving small for communities.

Water for Whom?

Under Mexico’s National Water Law, quality depletion takes priority, followed by agriculture, past manufacture and recreation. But successful Sonora, Dorado said, the bid has been inverted. A majority, oregon “55% of the h2o rights wherever the Río Sonora is calved are for mining,” helium said flatly.

Communities that erstwhile thrived connected small-scale farming and ranching are near hauling h2o successful trucks portion multinational corporations devour tens of millions of cubic meters. “Small producers were not allowed to works a azygous thing. But mining has not stopped producing a azygous gram of copper oregon gold,” Limón added.

For Megacaravan protesters, the existent question down the dam projects is this: Who benefits? (Liliam Urías)

For caravan participants, this is the bosom of the issue: who benefits from these projects, and who pays the cost? Many residents judge the dams are little astir supplying Hermosillo and much astir securing h2o for concern improvement and existent estate. “At the bottom, determination is simply a existent property project. That is the main information we spot from the authorities government,” Limón charged.

Conagua disputes this figure. Castro said concern concessions successful the basin correspond conscionable 4% of the total, compared with 83% for agriculture and 11% for municipality supply. He acknowledged that mining is the ascendant enactment successful Cananea but argued that h2o allocations “correspond to the productive vocation of the region.”

Dorado, meanwhile, insists that mining concessions astatine the river’s root are precisely wherefore downstream communities spot their wells tally dry.

A telephone to consultation

What angers locals astir is the deficiency of transparency. Despite repeated promises from Gov. Durazo and national agencies, communities person yet to person adjacent the astir basal method studies – nary biology interaction assessments, nary ungraded mechanics reports, nary cost-benefit analysis.

State Water Commission manager Ariel Monge countered that the committee has been successful dialog with the ejido groups successful the municipality of San Pedro de Ures, wherever citizens have, successful fact, requested dams “for much than 100 years.” He added that the existent president of the San Pedro ejido, Eduviges “Vickita” Martínez Navarro, has shifted her presumption aft participating successful authorities accusation sessions, and is present seeking ineligible guarantees to guarantee the benefits of immoderate task are permanent.

Martínez, however, had spoken retired powerfully against the dams successful a video posted connected Facebook conscionable weeks earlier, declaring: “It’s a resounding nary to the dams.” Asked by Mexico News Daily to clarify her position, Martínez did not respond.

Protesters successful Sonora would similar to spot the caller dam projects publically debated. (Liliam Urías)

Organizers person called for nationalist debates and genuine consultation. “Why don’t they fto the radical instrumentality portion successful decision-making? Why bash they privation to enforce this task connected them?” Dorado asked.

Castro responded that Conagua provided disposable method accusation to national groups connected Aug. 19 and has been holding meetings with agrarian and cultivation sectors for months. Organizers antagonistic that, to date, they person not received the halfway studies they person been demanding.

Alternatives connected the table

For years, academics and agrarian leaders person offered solutions to Hermosillo’s h2o woes that don’t necessitate damming rivers:

• Fixing leaks: With ratio beneath 50%, repairing Hermosillo’s organisation strategy could warrant h2o “for 20 oregon 30 much years.”
• Aquifer recharge: Through rainwater harvesting, infiltration galleries and managed injection wells. “There are galore types of recharge that tin beryllium done successful the basin to retrieve the hydrological cycle,” Limón said.
• Wastewater treatment: Hermosillo treats lone a fraction of its sewage. “If we took vantage of 100% of wastewater, it would beryllium a antithetic story,” Limón argued.
• Urban reforestation: Planting a cardinal trees would reconstruct microclimates, trim vigor and summation rainfall retention.

These proposals are not new. They person been presented repeatedly to municipal, authorities and national authorities. But small has changed. “There needs to beryllium governmental will, and alternatively they privation to lick a occupation for the mining industry, adjacent if Hermosillo suffers the consequences,” Limón said.

Resistance connected the ground

At Puerta del Sol, wherever 1 of the dams is planned, residents person already chased retired survey crews and “kicked retired the siervos de la nación (federal programme representatives), adjacent though the National Guard was lasting close there.” In San Pedro de Ures, much than 40 vehicles joined the caravan successful solidarity.

Communities person acceptable up vigils and pledged to mobilize if machinery arrives. “All of the communities agreed they volition not let the operation of the dams due to the fact that they endanger their mode of life,” Dorado said. “People are precise upset, and this could detonate into a societal conflict.”

Opposition to the dam projects has the imaginable to erupt into societal conflict, protesters warn. (Liliam Urías)

The parallels to 2014 are ne'er acold from mind. That year, Grupo México’s Buenavista excavation spilled toxic copper sulfate into the Sonora and Bacanuchi rivers, contaminating h2o for 22,000 radical successful what is present recognized arsenic the worst mining catastrophe successful Mexican history. The promised remediation — water attraction plants, a specialty hospital, compensation funds — ne'er afloat materialized. The representation fuels distrust today. “The infirmary was ne'er completed, the h2o attraction plants were ne'er built, and the database goes on,” reads the caravan’s call.

‘Life is much important’

For galore here, the stakes could not beryllium higher. Limón summarized the sentiment that echoed done the caravan. “The radical of Sonora accidental we privation to live, adjacent if minerals are not produced. Life is much important than the minerals that Grupo México is extracting.”

The conflict has besides go a motivation entreaty to Mexico’s leaders. Dorado recalled confronting President Claudia Sheinbaum successful Bavispe earlier this year, invoking her inheritance arsenic an biology scientist. “We approached the president due to the fact that she is simply a scientist, due to the fact that she was Secretary of the Environment successful Mexico City, and we expected her to person much empathy,” helium said. But until now, residents argue, her medication has not acted decisively.

Their request is clear. “We privation her to basal with the radical and not with economical power. It’s not close that governmental power, allied with economical power, delivers a fatal stroke to ecosystems.”

The planetary trend

Sonora’s combat resonates beyond Mexico. Around the world, governments and scientists are rethinking the relation of dams, with the U.N. and biology agencies informing that caller operation often causes much harm than good. Even Mexico’s ain Environment Ministry published successful 2020 that further dam-building was “unfeasible.”

“It is not recommended to physique caller dams due to the fact that they origin much harm than benefits. And the stream should travel freely. That’s what it’s about,” Dorado said.

Opponents to the dam projects person publically called for President Sheinbaum’s support. (Liliam Urías)

For caravan participants, the rivers are much than h2o sources. They are taste lifelines, ecosystems they picture arsenic “the lungs of the authorities and the country.” Their defense, they argue, is not lone astir survival. It’s besides astir preserving the wellness of the onshore for generations to come.

After the caravan

As the prima bushed down connected Hermosillo’s streets, demonstrators refused to retreat indoors. “The vigor scale was similar 50 degrees Celsius. But the anger, the indignation, was truthful large that radical said no. We’re not moving until it’s over,” Dorado recalled.

What comes adjacent is uncertain. Officials proceed to committedness dialogue, but method documents stay nether wraps. Communities vow they volition not judge impositions.

For now, the caravan stands arsenic a declaration of intent. From Bacoachi to Hermosillo, agrarian and municipality residents person joined voices to accidental no. “We privation to sphere our mode of life, our traditions, and the dams volition lone bring full disorder,” Limón said.

Tracy L. Barnett is simply a freelance writer based successful Guadalajara. She is the laminitis of The Esperanza Project, a bilingual mag covering societal alteration movements successful the Americas.