Towards More Efficient Water Management System in Mexico to Prevent Water Scarcity

Mexico has recently faced severe water scarcity problems, resulting in harsh criticism of the public water system management. Water governance in the country is inefficient because of corruption, the lack of transparency in water policies, and the resistance to change in how the resource is managed among the responsible authorities. This article investigates a state-level public water management system’s efficiency and evolution over the last three years. For this, a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model was constructed using data from the 2019 and 2021 Economic Censuses. DEA identifies the best-performing states and the opportunity areas for each state; therefore, state-policy makers could design plans to boost sustainable water management by identifying current deficiencies in the water system. This paper’s findings help to benchmark the adoption and implementation of innovative water governance practices among responsible water authorities.