BajaNomad

water problems Mulege Municipality

mtnpop - 3-21-2021 at 09:02 AM

There may already be a thread talking about this that I did not find but here goes anyway.
CFE has been cutting the power to the SAPA pumps supplying water to Mulege Municipality which includes GN, Viscaino, San Ignacio, Santa Rosalia, and Mulege pueblos due to non payment of electric bills.
In Mulege we are now out of fresh water supply since Thurs 3/18
Pilas are starting to dry up if you were lucky enough to have one.
Most of the folks we know pay their water bill for a year so SAPA will not get money from those folks until early 2022 it would seem. Therefore no income for now to pay the electric bills or whoever the money is going to.
So if you are planning a trip south we might suggest you keep informed about the situation in the area you are going to spend some time in.
So far the bottled water supply is still available.

BajaMama - 3-21-2021 at 09:20 AM

Wow. Is there water delivery to Punta Chivato or are they dry, too? My suegro is heading down in a couple weeks.

mtnpop - 3-21-2021 at 09:29 AM

Chivato has their own water supply last I knew. Not part of the SAPA water system.
So if you are hooked up to their system you are probably good. If not I think the water supply trucks are still getting water from their suppliers in the valley.

JC43 - 3-21-2021 at 10:43 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mtnpop  
Chivato has their own water supply last I knew. Not part of the SAPA water system.
So if you are hooked up to their system you are probably good. If not I think the water supply trucks are still getting water from their suppliers in the valley.


Own water supply in Chivato? As far as I know thy are getting their water from the SAPA well. And I do not know any supplier "in the valley" which is not SAPA.

RFClark - 3-21-2021 at 11:21 AM

We are driving north that way next week. We’ll post anything we see.

Toilets not flushing are probably a bigger issue than drinking water right now.

Nothing quite like raw sewerage during a pandemic!

Back to the 55 gal drum and plastic jug in the Pemex Station!

Russ - 3-21-2021 at 11:42 AM

Chivato has it own well and is run off a generator. And we pay dearly.

mtnpop - 3-21-2021 at 01:37 PM

Yep, Didn't want to argue but we had a property down below the community center and the water bill didn't come from SAPA. Big pilas built and supply most or maybe all of the area now and their own well.
Also SAPA does not own all the wells in the valley, many farmers and ranchers have wells that probably sell some water to the tenders which may not be legal but maybe.... There are vendors selling water by the truck load so not from SAPA....

Terry28 - 3-21-2021 at 04:10 PM

maybe time for Mulege to go solar for their pump power.....

JC43 - 3-21-2021 at 07:11 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Russ  
Chivato has it own well and is run off a generator. And we pay dearly.


Thanks for the info -- didn`t know that (nobody is perfect!)

mtnpop - 3-21-2021 at 09:46 PM

I an not 100 % sure but have heard that the 2 Mulege pumps are considerably bigger than 30 HP Each has it's own electric meter and also have been told they run almost 24/7 . even tho SAPA and CFE are both Gov't entities they don't seem to work together much. SAPA is probably paying a commercial rate also.
Have been told the pumps are 440 v..

Some solar might offset the electric bill but with a considerable expense to build, also to do a solar array to hook in with CFE it is necessary to get the permitting from CFE. in my research recently..

Cryin shame that CFE thinks that pullin the plug on SAPA is gonna take care of anything, It is the end user that is having to suffer not the water company...


JC43 - 3-21-2021 at 11:58 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtnpop  
I an not 100 % sure but have heard that the 2 Mulege pumps are considerably bigger than 30 HP Each has it's own electric meter and also have been told they run almost 24/7 . even tho SAPA and CFE are both Gov't entities they don't seem to work together much. SAPA is probably paying a commercial rate also.
Have been told the pumps are 440 v..

Some solar might offset the electric bill but with a considerable expense to build, also to do a solar array to hook in with CFE it is necessary to get the permitting from CFE. in my research recently..

Cryin shame that CFE thinks that pullin the plug on SAPA is gonna take care of anything, It is the end user that is having to suffer not the water company...




If I am understanding that correctly, then the pumps in Mulege are "out of the CFE game" if Mulege-Sapa is paying the bill for that specific pump-meter.
Just using common sense, CFE can only cut the power to a specific meter if the power bill is not paid.

JC43 - 3-22-2021 at 09:48 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mtnpop  
There may already be a thread talking about this that I did not find but here goes anyway.
CFE has been cutting the power to the SAPA pumps supplying water to Mulege Municipality which includes GN, Viscaino, San Ignacio, Santa Rosalia, and Mulege pueblos due to non payment of electric bills.
In Mulege we are now out of fresh water supply since Thurs 3/18
Pilas are starting to dry up if you were lucky enough to have one.
Most of the folks we know pay their water bill for a year so SAPA will not get money from those folks until early 2022 it would seem. Therefore no income for now to pay the electric bills or whoever the money is going to.
So if you are planning a trip south we might suggest you keep informed about the situation in the area you are going to spend some time in.
So far the bottled water supply is still available.


My wife talked to her relatives in Mulege this morning. No water shortage at all. The cistern is full. And it really makes no sense that ALL meters in the entire Mulege community from Guerreo Negro to South of Mulege are cut off by CFE b/c of non-payment. And even that woul make no sense. Either SAPA is paying for all meters or none.
It is my wild guess that SAPA is not paying for every single meter separately.

1bobo - 3-22-2021 at 01:32 PM

Don't know who's cistern is full, we haven't had city water for a week. Being very careful with what remains in our tinaco. Like the old drought days in norcal, don't flush unless you mush.

AKgringo - 3-22-2021 at 02:25 PM

Quote: Originally posted by 1bobo  
Don't know who's cistern is full, we haven't had city water for a week. Being very careful with what remains in our tinaco. Like the old drought days in norcal, don't flush unless you mush.


Yellow, let it mellow....brown, it's down!

Another emergency water stretching tip.....remove the sink trap and replace it with a five gallon bucket. Use that to flush the toilet!

JC43 - 3-22-2021 at 02:27 PM

Quote: Originally posted by 1bobo  
Don't know who's cistern is full, we haven't had city water for a week. Being very careful with what remains in our tinaco. Like the old drought days in norcal, don't flush unless you mush.


In general: if its yellow - let it mellow! only if its brown - flush it down.

Don`t know where you live . North-Side, maybe Loma Azul ?
Well, according to the info from this morning there are some spots in Mulege were some folks have illegal waterlines - connected to the SAPA line between dust and dawn. Could be a reason? SAPA is now investigating on that and enforcing payments even from those. T t L !
On the South-Side water supply so far is o.k.

Bob and Susan - 3-22-2021 at 03:32 PM

not true

no water guerrero negro to south mulege all towns in between

only farmers have separate wells but could be illegal to sell that to the public

water should be on tomorrow

[Edited on 3-22-2021 by Bob and Susan]

RFClark - 3-22-2021 at 08:52 PM

Interesting, around Todos Santos the Farm Ejedos supply water to many residents. So maybe it’s not illegal!

HeyMulegeScott - 3-23-2021 at 08:19 AM

The water is back on. Trucks have been coming out to the valley and fill up.

AKgringo - 3-23-2021 at 08:40 AM

Quote: Originally posted by RFClark  
Interesting, around Todos Santos the Farm Ejedos supply water to many residents. So maybe it’s not illegal!


I wonder if there is a situation where selling the water pays more than using it to raise a crop?

BajaMama - 3-24-2021 at 07:36 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Russ  
Chivato has it own well and is run off a generator. And we pay dearly.


Thanks Russ.

shari - 3-24-2021 at 10:18 AM

Water is an ongoing issue in Mulege district and has been since the villages did away with desal plants operated by the fishing cooperatives.
Best thing we ever invested in was building a cement pila with more than a months worth of water supply...just in case. We have gone weeks with no water in Asuncion when luckily enterprising folks have trucked water to locals from old wells in the area.

Moral of the story is...invest in a large as possible water storage system as soon as possible.

RFClark - 3-24-2021 at 07:44 PM

People who live in high humidity climates can turn excess solar electricity into water. AC units output gallons of water per day. Dehumidifiers also collect water in gallons per day during high humidity. Where we live (both San Felipe and Cerritos Beach) the humidity at night often is high enough that white and metal roofs drip considerable amounts of water that can be collected. Most of those living close to the beach in Baja can take advantage of collecting water this way.

There are expensive commercial systems that collect water from the air but even a several hundred dollar dehumidifier can collect a few gallons of water a day. If you live by the beach and have excess solar electricity it can be turned into water. Collecting water from roofs, AC and dehumidifiers is also responsibly low tech.

[Edited on 3-25-2021 by RFClark]

JC43 - 3-24-2021 at 11:48 PM

Quote: Originally posted by shari  
Water is an ongoing issue in Mulege district and has been since the villages did away with desal plants operated by the fishing cooperatives.
Best thing we ever invested in was building a cement pila with more than a months worth of water supply...just in case. We have gone weeks with no water in Asuncion when luckily enterprising folks have trucked water to locals from old wells in the area.

Moral of the story is...invest in a large as possible water storage system as soon as possible.


My friends in Mulege had exactly the same idea - which is a smart thing in Baja Sur. When they build their new house about ten years ago, they installed two 5000 liter tanks underground with a pressure system and a generator in case CFE has any trouble. Under normal circumstances there is no need for concerns as Mulege is maybe (I`m not sure about that) the only town in Baja Sur with no water problems, talking availability. Not talking about pump out of order b/c of CFE. Sapa is pumping every second day, as far as I know.