Mexico Refuses to Pony up Its Water Records
by Joan Dark
A public records act request for water blueprints in a specific area of Mexico City has been refused, with the Office of Transparency citing “risk” to water systems in its refusal. The request was made in an effort to document the fact that Mexico City maintains the covert “double line” water system, which is considered to involve the weaponization of water systems which can be deployed, under the mantle of “plausible deniability” against pre-determined targets.
The request was for blueprints of the area surrounding Parque Alameda, one of the most widely trafficked areas in the center of the city.
The response states that the information requested is “Reservada” — restricted — due to the potential harm to the citizens of Mexico City. The potential harm, explains the responder, Francisco R. Gonzalez, revolves around the possibility of attack by unknown assailants on the water infrastructure. In other words, armed men may possibly assault the water lines in one of the most heavily trafficked and surveilled areas of Mexico City, possibly with pick axes and other instruments intended to cause damage to the water lines.
Seriously.
The responses to similar public records act requests in the US spanned the absolutely bizarre—Santa Monica, California denying that the city had any water records—to the admittedly obfuscatory—the City of Los Angeles offering to create redacted records so that pivotal national security information could be withheld. (Source)
The Mexican response can be seen below and a translation follows—
*Government of Mexico City
Water System of Mexico City
General Coordination
General Direction of the Drinking Water Projects
Direction of National Coordination and Institutional Security
Subdirection of the Unit of Transparency
2023**
**Francisco R. Gonzalez – Mexico City, October 10, 2023**
SACMEX/UT/1472-1/2023
In response to your request for public information number 090173523001472, entered into this Water System of Mexico City (SACMEX) through the National Transparency Platform (PNT), you have requested various information. In this regard, the Director of Drinking Water Projects of this Water System of Mexico City provides a response to the aforementioned request, in accordance with Articles 2, 199, 212, and 219 of the Transparency Law, Access to Public Information, and Accountability of Mexico City, informing you of the following:
“We cannot grant the request you require because the infrastructure of the hydraulic system of SACMEX is information considered to be restricted access in its RESERVED modality; this includes primary and secondary networks of drinking water, drainage, and treated wastewater, as well as their characteristics, opinions, technical and specific data such as locations, geolocations, pumping, re-pumping, names of the areas or colonies that are supplied with water services, supply and influence zones, levels and positions of gates; respectively, wells, reservoirs for drinking water, water treatment and purification plants, storage and regulation tanks, springs, collectors, wastewater and pluvial treatment plants, dams, channels, and/or surface drains, manholes, overpasses; included in all those documents such as master plans, projects, programs, plans, reports, logs, diagrams, contracts, agreements, feasibility of services, alternative systems, studies, and other documents containing technical and specific information on the infrastructure of SACMEX, as established in the Law of Transparency, Access, and Accountability of Mexico City, Articles 169, 176 section I, 180, 216, and 174.
Additionally, the damage that may occur with the publicity of the information is greater than the public interest of “knowing.” Therefore, it is a matter of avoiding any risk, threat, manipulation, kidnapping, disabling, destruction, sabotage, or blockage of pipes that could affect water services, as well as risks or alterations in the safety of the inhabitants of Mexico City.
The above is based on the Minutes of the Second Extraordinary Session of the Transportation Committee of the Water System of Mexico City, where the AGREEMENT CT/2SE/03-1V/2023 was established by the Transparency Committee, where it is classified as RESERVED, in accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution; Article 90 section XII, 173, 183 sections I, IX, and 216 of the Law of Transparency, Access to Public Information, and Accountability of Mexico City; and Sections I and V of the General Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information.”
Without further details at this time, please accept my cordial greetings.
**FRG/tmo
Rio de la Plata 48, 14th Floor
Col. Cuauhtémoc
Ale. Cuauhtémoc
06500, Mexico City
Tel. 559017 4603 Ext. 1419**
**Francisco R. Gonzalez
Assistant Director of the Transparency Unit
City Innovation and Rights**
While the extensive “Transparency Act,” voted into law in Mexico in 2015, does not specifically state that water blueprints are “Restricted,” the law states that certain information is to be withheld from public oversight, including–
Article 113. The information may be classified as privileged if its publication: I. Jeopardizes the national security, the public security or the national defense and has a genuine purpose and demonstrable effect; II. May adversely affect the conduct of negotiations and international relations; III. Is delivered to the Mexican State expressly as confidential by other subjects of international law, except in the case of serious human rights violations or crimes against humanity under international law; IV. It may affect the effectiveness of the measures taken with regard to the country’s monetary, foreign exchange or financial system policies; it could jeopardize the stability of the financial institutions susceptible to be considered of systemic risk or the country’s financial system; it would jeopardize the security in the provision of local currency into the country, or may increase the cost of financial transactions carried out by the regulated entities of the federal public sector; V. May endanger the life, safety or health of an individual; VI. Obstructs the activities of verification, inspection and auditing relating to compliance with laws or affects the collection of contributions;
VII. Obstructs the prevention or prosecution of crime; VIII. Which contains the opinions, recommendations or views that are part of the deliberative process of Public Servants, while a final decision is made, which must be documented; IX. Obstructs the procedures for holding Public Servants liable, while the administrative decision has not been issued; X. Affects the rights of due process; XI. Violates the management of judicial Records or administrative procedures carried out in the form of trials, while they become final and conclusive; XII. It is contained within the investigations of facts established by law as crimes and dealt with the Public Prosecutor, and XIII. Which, by express provision of a law, have such character, provided they are consistent with the bases, principles and provisions laid down in this Act and not contravene it; as well as those provided for in international treaties.
However, an official meeting of the Committee of Transparency of the Water Systems of Mexico City in February of 2023 barred the release of water blueprints, determining that these are a matter of “privileged information.”
Mexico City is a multicultural city, with a population of around 9 million people, making it one of the largest cities in the world. It is home to about 40,000 Jews and about 1600 Muslims, with the dominant religion being Christianity.
It should be noted that the Office of Transparency has been abolished by the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, which is being reported as either an anti-corruption measure, or one that is seen as pro- corruption.
Given the response by the Transparency Office, which was protecting certain interests at the expense of the general population, one might ask if it makes much difference.
The double line system has been found across the US and also in Canada, post-invasion Iraq, Switzerland and in Tel Aviv. This is largely considered to be an incomplete list.
