In a major effort to improve water security and conditions for families across the state, Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda has presented her administration’s “Government of Water” initiative, together with Mexico’s Federal Government under President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, during her Fifth State of the State Address. This strategy focuses on diversifying supply sources and modernizing aging infrastructure to bring certainty to all residents.
Driven over five years of planning, the strategy directly tackles climate change challenges while bolstering water availability across the Coastal Zone and southern Baja California.
A central pillar of the initiative is a historic policy shift under the National Water Plan and the new National Water Law. For the first time, the Federal Government has directly delivered water concession and allocation titles to the municipalities of Tijuana, Tecate, Playas de Rosarito, Ensenada, and Mexicali.
By granting local governments direct control over their water rights for the next three decades, the move ends multi-million-peso payment schemes to third parties and irrigation districts and establishes a model of water justice with direct payments to the federal government.
The initiative represents a total projected investment of 15.6 billion pesos, funded entirely through public contributions from the governments of Baja California and Mexico. Key projects include the construction of the Rosarito Desalination Plant and pipeline expansions designed to secure water for households, hospitals, businesses, and industries.
The governor’s administration, working in coordination with the Federal Government, secured 3 billion pesos for the comprehensive restoration of the Tijuana River channel. An additional 681 million pesos were allocated to the Treated Water Separation System, a key project under binational agreements to sanitize the border region.
As part of its commitment to social justice in the south and the Coastal Zone, the plan allocates over 1.578 billion pesos for San Quintín, funding wells, the expansion of the Padre Kino desalination plant, and a new municipal desalination plant. It also provides for sanitary drainage in Primo Tapia, addressing a long-standing demand in Playas de Rosarito, and the modernization of Tecate’s network through the “Juárez” Regulating Tank, which will directly benefit more than 15,000 families in the municipality.
The state governor emphasized that access to treated and drinking water is a fundamental human right that transforms quality of life and safeguards the development of future generations.
“Guaranteeing water for our people is an act of historical justice that transforms lives. Over five years of well-being, we have laid the foundation so that no Baja Californian family goes without this vital resource, consolidating strategic projects that secure today’s water and the peace of mind of coming generations,” Governor Marina del Pilar said.
With the formal delivery of water allocation titles to the state’s municipalities, the Baja California government reinforces legal certainty over water resources, consolidating Shared Well-being across the state.
