Unsustainable use of surface water due to water balance miscalculation: the Culiacán River basin, Mexico

ABSTRACT The development of instruments for the administration of water use is a pending issue in both developing and developed countries. UNESCO has published guidance on determining water availability in Latin American and Caribbean countries. We applied this method to the Culiacán River basin, the most significant basin in Mexico for agricultural productivity. We find that surface water availability has been overestimated due to the inclusion of non-physical terms in the water balance equation, miscalculation of natural runoff and the omission of ecological water flow. Thus, unsustainable surface water use is allowed based on a miscalculation of physical water availability.