On a planet where the climate crisis and water scarcity already affect more than 2 billion people, Mexico City has become a symbol of urgency: the Valley of Mexico Aquifer is exploited up to 2.5 times beyond its natural recharge capacity, causing differential subsidence, infrastructure fractures, and water shortages that limit both the quality of life of communities and the competitiveness of the capital. This reality reflects a global pattern: according to the United Nations, by 2030 the demand for freshwater will exceed supply by 40%, putting at risk the water security of cities and productive sectors.
In this critical context, a major sports complex emerges as a pioneer by deciding to transform its facilities into a model of water sustainability. The solution integrates rainwater harvesting and wastewater reuse technologies that not only guarantee the continuity of its operations but also contribute to the recovery of the aquifer and urban resilience. Each cubic meter treated and reused is equivalent to the annual consumption of dozens of local households, which on an annual scale represents thousands of cubic meters returned to the local water system. This volume is comparable to the full filling of several Olympic swimming pools, a tangible and understandable indicator to measure its impact.
The project represents a paradigm shift: it turns an operational risk into a strategic opportunity to show that sports infrastructure can become a driver of environmental and social regeneration. The application of methodologies such as VWBA 2.0 and WQBA ensures that the benefits are traceable, measurable, and aligned with a new water economy, meeting the principles of additionality, intentionality, and traceability that underpin the Water Positive vision. In this way, the complex not only ensures its sustainability but also positions itself as a benchmark in Latin America, inspiring other sports and urban institutions to follow the same path.
The Hydrological Region XIII “Waters of the Valley of Mexico” faces a vicious circle: excessive extraction, ground subsidence, damage to hydraulic infrastructure, and growing scarcity that constrain urban development and regional competitiveness. In this scenario, the sports complex depends on a concessioned well, which increases pressure on the aquifer and exposes it to operational and reputational risks. The project introduces a model of circular infrastructure that integrates rainwater harvesting and advanced wastewater treatment, enabling the transformation of thousands of cubic meters per year into safe water for irrigation, services, and facility maintenance. This is equivalent to reducing the extraction of tens of thousands of liters per day, mitigating subsidence and preventing polluting discharges.
Immediate benefits include lower supply costs, regeneration of water with controlled quality, and substitution of conventional inputs with high environmental impact. In the medium term, water resilience is ensured in the face of droughts and climate variability; in the long term, the project contributes to aquifer recovery and the urban sustainability of the capital. This model, designed with strategic partners such as water authorities, technology operators, and external verifiers, proves replicable in stadiums, sports centers, and other entertainment infrastructures across Mexico and Latin America.
Acting now is key: new environmental regulations, social pressure for transparency, and corporate ESG commitments make these types of projects a competitive differentiator. Companies linked to sports, mass consumption, or event management can lead solutions like this, gaining public legitimacy, international visibility, and regulatory compliance, while positioning themselves as protagonists of the transition toward a Water Positive future.
The project is structured into several integrated solutions that address both water supply and demand. The first axis is rainwater harvesting and treatment, through roof and impermeable surface systems that channel rainwater to the existing cistern, passing through solid filters and advanced disinfection. This resource is used for general services and irrigation, ensuring immediate use during the rainy season. The second axis is the wastewater treatment plant, designed in accordance with NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021, with a capacity of several hundred cubic meters per day, to process internal discharges for reuse in irrigation, restrooms, and services, closing the water cycle within the complex. It is a hybrid solution that combines gray infrastructure with digital monitoring and control processes, ensuring efficiency and sanitary safety.
The selection of these technologies responded to criteria of effectiveness, cost-benefit, regulatory compliance, and replicability potential in other sports venues. Compared to alternatives such as constructed wetlands or simpler filtration systems, this scheme was chosen for its greater operational stability and traceability, aligned with the Water Positive strategy and VWBA principles of additionality, intentionality, and traceability.
Quantifiable benefits include thousands of cubic meters saved or reused annually, significant reduction in pollutant discharges, and improved water quality used in the facilities. Additional environmental impacts include reduced emissions associated with groundwater pumping, mitigation of ground subsidence, and the potential to support artificial aquifer recharge in future phases. Socially, the project reduces health risks, improves environmental quality, and generates technical jobs in operation and maintenance. Economically, it provides direct savings in concessioned water consumption, resilience to climate variability, and positive reputation with auditors, sponsors, and authorities.
Identified risks include technological failures, hydrological variability, and even social perception of reused water. To mitigate them, redundant systems, contingency plans, critical failure prevention protocols, and shared governance with water authorities are included. Long-term resilience is ensured through design flexibility, allowing adaptation to climate change and more severe scarcity scenarios.
The model is scalable and replicable in other stadiums, sports centers, and large urban facilities, as long as regulatory frameworks support reuse and stakeholders’ willingness exists. Its competitiveness is based on clear indicators of cost per cubic meter treated and public-private and technological partnerships that facilitate its expansion.
The project will be implemented in stages combining technical interventions, governance processes, and a detailed monitoring plan to ensure its long-term success and permanence of benefits.
Phase 1: Diagnosis and design (6 months). Hydrological modeling of the facilities and surrounding basin, water quality studies, and analysis of existing infrastructure will be carried out. The baseline of consumption, losses, and discharges will be established, along with risk assessment associated with climate variability. This phase includes basic engineering, process design, KPI definition, and regulatory permitting.
Phase 2: Rainwater harvesting (8 months). Installation of conduction systems from roofs and impermeable surfaces, solid filters, and ultraviolet and safe chlorination disinfection systems feeding the cisterns. The technology was chosen over less robust alternatives due to its higher efficiency, stability, and integration with the digital monitoring system. It is estimated to capture several thousand m³/year, replacing water extracted from the well.
Phase 3: Wastewater treatment plant (12 months). Construction and commissioning of a plant with a capacity of several hundred m³/day, equipped with physical-chemical and biological processes, membrane modules, and final disinfection systems. It will incorporate IoT sensors for online control of pH, turbidity, dissolved solids, BOD, nitrogen, and residual chlorine. This configuration ensures compliance with NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021 and safe reuse for irrigation, restrooms, and services, reducing public health risks.
Phase 4: Operation, validation and continuous improvement (ongoing). Monitoring protocols with flow meters, multiparameter probes, and laboratory sampling will be implemented, complemented by SCADA platforms and digital reports traceable under VWBA 2.0. Data will be collected monthly and compared against the without-project condition, validated externally by independent verifiers. The system will generate automatic alarms in case of deviations and will include redundancy in critical processes.
Physical traceability will be guaranteed through controls at the points of entry, storage, and distribution of water; while digital traceability will rely on IoT and blockchain platforms, with auditable records. The maintenance plan includes scheduled inspections, sensor calibration, replacement of consumables, and failure response protocols. Roles and responsibilities will be defined among the complex administration (operation and reporting), technology providers (maintenance and upgrades), and external verifiers (validation and audits).
The governance scheme includes agreements on the use of regenerated water, contingency protocols for hydrological variability, communication with neighboring communities, and coordination with regulatory authorities. Long-term resilience is ensured through the modularity of the plant, which will allow capacity to be increased in the face of higher demand, and the integration of climate change scenarios into planning.
With this structure, implementation not only guarantees regulatory compliance and technical efficiency but also lays the foundation for a model replicable in other sports facilities, promoting continuous improvement through data feedback, technological updating, and progressive adaptation to international sustainability standards.
The project consists of the integration of a rainwater harvesting system and a wastewater treatment plant for reuse, both installed in a sports complex in the southern area of Mexico City. Technically, the intervention combines rainwater conduction and filtration processes, storage in cisterns, physical-chemical and biological treatment of wastewater, advanced disinfection, and digital monitoring with IoT sensors and SCADA platforms. The plant’s nominal capacity is estimated at several hundred m³/day, sufficient to cover irrigation, restrooms, and services, complying with NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021 and national and international water safety standards.
The relevance of this solution lies in directly addressing the structural challenge of the Valley of Mexico: aquifer overexploitation and ground subsidence. Compared to a baseline of total dependence on a concessioned well, the project introduces alternative and circular water sources that reduce extraction, prevent polluting discharges, and generate climate resilience. It is thus the most suitable alternative for an urban environment under high water stress, where every cubic meter recovered has a tangible impact on sustainability.
In terms of concrete results, hundreds of thousands of m³ of groundwater are expected to be replaced annually with regenerated and harvested water, significant reduction of pollutants in discharges, and improvement in critical quality parameters such as turbidity, dissolved solids, and BOD. Additionally, the project reduces emissions associated with pumping, strengthens public health by ensuring safe water for non-potable uses, and contributes to the city’s water security.
Strategically and commercially, the initiative is integrated into the Water Positive roadmap, providing additionality, traceability, and intentionality under VWBA and WQBA methodologies. It generates tangible ESG benefits: social license to operate, regulatory compliance, competitive differentiation, and strengthened reputation as a leader in sustainable sports infrastructure. It also aligns with global commitments such as the SDGs, the NPWI framework, and ESRS E3 requirements.
The model has high replicability: it can be adapted to stadiums, sports centers, industrial parks, and educational campuses in water-stressed areas, as long as regulatory reuse conditions and institutional willingness exist. Partnerships with technology operators, communities, and governments facilitate its scaling in other regions of Mexico and Latin America.
The final expected impact is a sustained reduction in pressure on the Valley of Mexico Aquifer, greater resilience to droughts and climate variability, generation of technical employment in operation and maintenance, and improvements in health and water access for neighboring communities. Beyond the technical aspects, the project sends a clear message to investors, clients, and society: sports infrastructure can and should be a protagonist in the transition to a regenerative economy, where every drop counts and every action matters.
