| South America


particularly in reservoirs located in basins with high erosion rates. Additionally, many dams built during the large infrastructure programmes of the mid-twentieth century are now several decades old, making ageing infrastructure and dam safety management important priorities. These factors have increased the importance of monitoring programmes, periodic safety evaluations, rehabilitation works, and improved watershed management practices. Budget concerns about maintaining infrastructure is also a big challenge in Mexico.


Construction Dam construction and related hydraulic infrastructure


development continue in Mexico, although new projects are generally fewer and often subject to greater environmental and social scrutiny than in previous decades. Recent projects have focused primarily on water supply reliability, irrigation, and regional development, particularly in areas experiencing growing urban demand and water scarcity. Examples include the Tunal II Dam in Durango, which is being developed to strengthen the long-term water supply for the city of Durango, and the Margarita Maza Dam in Oaxaca, intended to improve water availability and regional hydraulic management. In northern Mexico, the Milpillas Dam project in Zacatecas has been proposed as a strategic water source to supply urban and agricultural demand in the central region of the state. Additional initiatives include the development of a


system of dams in the Sonora River basin to improve water supply security for the city of Hermosillo, as well as the El Novillo Dam project in Baja California Sur, planned to support water supply for the city of La Paz. Alongside these new projects, a significant portion of investment in the sector is directed toward the rehabilitation, modernisation, and safety upgrading of existing dams, reflecting the need to maintain ageing infrastructure while adapting reservoir operations to changing hydrological conditions.


A critical role The dam sector in Mexico continues to play a critical


role nationally. Particularly because large areas of DAM FACT FILE


Earliest known dam (prehispanic) ● Name: Purrón Dam (Presa de Purrón) ● Where: Tehuacán Valley (Coxcatlán area), Puebla ● When: Built in the Preclassic period (roughly 1st millennium BCE); research describes it as part of early large-scale water-control works in Mesoamerica.


● Height: 25m ● Type/function: Early earth-and-stone water-control structure, associated with irrigation/agro-hydraulic management in a semi-arid region.


First major “modern” hydroelectric dam system (early 1900s) ● Name: Necaxa system/Necaxa reservoir (Puebla) ● When: Construction began in the early 1900s and the system delivered electricity to Mexico City in 1905 (Mexico’s first major hydroelectric scheme).


● Type/function: Reservoirs/dams feeding hydropower plants – a landmark in Mexico’s early industrial electrification.


the country experience significant climatic variability and depend heavily on stored water for agriculture and urban supply. These vast experiences have held Mexican engineers to design and build dams in Latin America with excellent results. From a technical perspective, the industry increasingly emphasises risk- based dam safety management, improved monitoring technologies, and integrated basin planning. In recent years, there has also been greater recognition of the need to balance hydraulic infrastructure development with environmental considerations and community engagement. These factors are shaping how dam projects are planned, operated, and rehabilitated.


Invitation The Mexican Committe of ICOLD is proud to host


ICOLD 2026 which will be held from the 22nd to 29th May 2026 in the beautiful city of Guadalajara, capital of the western Mexican state of Jalisco. It is a great honour for us invite esteemed delegates, specialists, and accompanying persons from the National Committees of 107 member countries to the 94th Annual Meeting and Symposium. ICOLD Mexico 2026 will be the global epicentre of knowledge in large dams. Get ready for a unique experience at the heart of global hydraulic engineering.


Left: The Chicoasén Dam is an embankment dam and hydroelectric power station on the Grijalva River near Chicoasén in Chiapas, Mexico.


www.waterpowermagazine.com | April 2026 | 19


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