Making waves: Public health risks from arsenic in Mexico's water extraction practices

Abstract

In response to water scarcity in Mexico´s urban areas, authorities have implemented significant measures to increase water access, primarily by overexploiting groundwater resources. However, this approach has unintentionally worsened human exposure to groundwater arsenic consumption, which is part of a broader phenomenon known as environmental problem shifting. This paper examines the public health implications of arsenic contamination in Mexico's groundwater. We particularly focus our analysis on urban areas to demonstrate the policy gap that leaves the issue of arsenic contamination caused by over-pumping, and its associated widespread health risks, largely unaddressed. We draw on evidence from Mexico, but also Bangladesh, to define and describe the issue of such problem-shifting and how it underlies the urgent need to develop integrative water management strategies that balance the demands of water access with the necessity of maintaining water quality. By analysing water data from Mexico, the paper calls for a reconsideration of water policies to prevent further health crises.