ABSTRACT
Water management in the Lerma-Chapala Basin in central Mexico is strongly contested between different stakeholders. From a water perspective this basin is in serious trouble. While average annual rainfall from 1993 to 2003 (at 675 mm), was only 5% below the historical average of 711 mm, and efforts were made by the government to reduce water use in irrigation through water saving programs, the total amount of surface and groundwater used in the basin exceeded supply by 9% on average during this period (Wester et al. 2001). Groundwater is being mined, and surface water depletion exceeds supply in all but the wettest years, causing Lake Chapala, the water body into which the Lerma River flows, to dry up.
