The Heineken brewery announced that it will donate 20% of its water consumption for distribution among households in Monterrey , in the midst of the water crisis in Nuevo León . This occurs after the so that beer and soft drink manufacturers reduce water consumption and use it for domestic use.
”The seriousness of the water crisis is pressing and requires that all sectors of society join in. At Heineken Mexico we continue to coordinate with the industry and the federal, state and municipal governments to help solve this great challenge,” the company said in a statement.
This action is part of the ‘Let’s add a jet’ initiative, promoted by the Transformation Industry Chamber of Nuevo León (Caintra) to provide more than 25 million cubic meters of water to the Monterrey Water and Drainage Services system.
“We are united to fight against the drought and we must start by helping those who need it most. The companies are joining efforts to support our community, as we have done in the face of other crises,” Caintra said in another statement.
Among the actions that Heineken listed to address the water shortage in the city of Monterrey are:
- Donation of exploration and equipment for a new deep well of 3.1 million cubic meters of water per year. At a cost of 20 million pesos.
- Donation of 1.7 million cubic meters of water from its treatment plant.
- Temporary transfer of rights equivalent to 600,000 cubic meters of water per year in favor of the Monterrey water distribution and drainage system.
- Production and delivery of 500,000 cans of water to vulnerable communities.
- Donation and delivery of 60,000 liters of water per week, through pipes, for domestic use.
The National Water Commission (Conagua) reported at the end of June that there are 64 water concessions granted to companies in Monterrey, Heineken among them, totaling around 50 million cubic meters, which is equivalent to 1,600 liters per second.
According to the Public Registry of Water Rights, the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery has water concession titles equivalent to 6.98 million cubic meters of water per year, in the Monterrey metropolitan area.
The brewer argued that its plant in Mexico consumes “less than 1% of the total water demand required by the Monterrey metropolitan area.”
The World Health Organization estimates that 100 liters of water a day is enough to meet a person’s needs. Although in Mexico the average use per inhabitant is 380 liters per day.
The titles granted to Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma are equivalent to almost 7,000 million liters of water per year, which is enough to cover the water needs of almost 164,000 inhabitants (with the amount recommended by the WHO).
