Access to Minimum Water Volumes in Querétaro

On May 7, 2024, the Federal Executive filed an acción de inconstitucionalidad asking the Supreme Court to strike down an amendment made to articles 74 and 75 of the state of Querétaro’s Law that Regulates Drinking Water, Sewage, and Sanitation. The amendment specified that in cases where a person failed to pay for water services for two consecutive periods, the service provider was entitled to restrict water access to “at least 50 liters of water per person”. As context, it is important to note that the state of Querétaro allows private entities to provide water services whenever the state deems it necessary, and private entities prove they can provide equal or better services than local authorities. The Federal Executive argued that the limit of 50 liters per person was contrary to the human right to water enshrined in Mexico’s Constitution. It argued that every human being has different needs depending on several factors and that Queretaro’s privatized water service system creates an incentive for providers to supply only the minimum required. On April 21, 2025, the Supreme Court decided that the articles were constitutional. However, it specified that the limit imposed by the law should not be interpreted uniformly. Instead, since the law specifically said “at least 50 liters” it should be understood that whenever a person needs more water for their daily needs, service providers are bound to give them more than 50 liters. The Court explained that understanding the amendment as a uniform limit would create a disparate impact on certain vulnerable groups that faced socioeconomic hardships. Such could be the case of children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with certain illnesses, or people fasting for religious purposes. Additionally, the Court considered data on the rising temperatures because of climate change in the State of Querétaro and explicitly recognized that a uniform limit of 50 liters per person could trigger a case of environmental and climate injustice. As such, a limit of 50 liters per person should also be adjusted whenever an area of the state faces high temperatures.