Should Tourists Be Worried About A Drought In Los Cabos?

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Despite the recent heavy rains and snow across the Western and Mountain states, drought continues to be a fact of life for many in the United States and beyond.

Recently, the same drought conditions have been seen in Los Cabos. While the tourist resort destination is actually located in a desert, water is critical for locals and the tourism industry in Los Cabos.

While local Los Cabos officials are concerned right now about the impact of a drought on the local farming and ranching industries, should tourists be worried about a drought in Los Cabos?

Water Conservation Efforts

Much like visiting areas in the Western United States, tourists to Los Cabos should be prepared for water conservation efforts in the area. That could be as simple as asking visitors to limit shower time or maybe limiting the amount of ice in cold drinks.

The first thing most visitors may notice would be the reduction of turf in tourist areas, as water conservation limits the watering of grass.

More natural landscapes could become the norm for guests in Los Cabos. That should be fine for most visitors as that’s what they expect and appreciate about a vacation in Los Cabos.

Unless the drought conditions persist, most tourists will not see much more impact beyond those traditional water conservation measures.

Desalination Technology

What most people don’t know is that Los Cabos actually gets nearly all of its water from the ocean. This is unlike most cities in the United States that depend on snowmelt, rivers, and groundwater instead.

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Los Cabos has a desalination plant that provides the community, and its tourism industry, with clean water for drinking, bathing, and irrigation. The plant extracts water from the ocean and removes salt and other minerals, which makes it fine for municipal use.

However, like most of the infrastructure in Los Cabos, the recent increase in tourist visitation has strained the resources of the community. A critical part of this infrastructure that was affected was the desalination plant in Los Cabos.

The plant recently had to shut down for a short period for routine maintenance and filter cleaning. However, the limits to the community were limited as the water was stored in advance of the incident.

On April 13, Los Cabos moved forward with the construction of an additional 250 liters per second municipal desalination plant in Los Cabos. Additionally, several of the local resorts have their own plants for water.

Impact to Golf Courses

For visitors that like to take to the links on vacation to Los Cabos, the impact on golf courses should be limited.

Technology has advanced to the point where most golf courses are used to planning turf that actually uses less water than before.

Meanwhile, the water typically used for golf course properties is recycled from gray water sources, which limits the use of water needed for drinking and bathing by tourists.

What Tourists Can Do To Help

Understandably, tourists don’t necessarily want to think of water conservation while visiting a resort vacation destination. However, if guests were to pitch in and be water smart, it would actually help everyone involved and the environment.

Limiting the consumption of water by watching the amount of time spent in showers will definitely help. Also, tourists should avoid requesting water at restaurants if they don’t plan to drink it.

Working together, both locals and tourists can ensure that Los Cabos has plenty of water for many vacations to come.