Sewage Spillover in 'Mexico's Toilet Bowl': The Endhó Dam Crisis

The Endhó Dam north of Mexico City has been called “the largest septic tank in the world” and “Mexico’s toilet bowl”. Once designed to solve water problems in the region, it now receives wastewater from local industry and Mexico City.   

Arizona State University doctoral students Raquel Neri, in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, and Diego Pantaleón, in the School of Social Transformation, join host Jay Famiglietti to discuss the devastating impact the contaminated water is having on local communities and water sources in Hidalgo, Mexico.  

We also hear from Yury Uribe, activist and member of El Movimiento Social por la Tierra - Social Movement for the Land in Mexico. She has been in the community all her life and lived near the  Endhó Dam for 20 years.  

By June 7, 2024, officials from Mexico's federal health department met with community leaders to discuss ways to address public health concerns related to contaminants in the waters of the region, including the Endhó Dam. Read the official statement from Mexico's federal government announcing it has begun work to declare the Endhó dam as an ecological restoration zone: