1. Mexico Industrial
Water and
Wastewater Issues
Vincent Lencioni
WEFTEC, September 2015
Chicago, Illinois

2. Presentation Outline
 I. Influent and Reuse Focuses
 Influent Issues – Prices, Water Quality Issues
 Reuse Issues – Drivers, Priority Areas
 II. General Wastewater Issues
 Regulations & Standards – General, vs US
 State Treatment & Water Quality Issues
 III. Industrial Wastewater Issues
 Treatment, Plant # & Types, Priority Sectors,
Opportunities, Mexico Business Tips

3. I. Industrial Source Water Issues
 Major Industrial Water Users
 Total: 3,338 hectars/m3
 55%: Veracruz (VC), QR,
Jalisco, Mexico State
 Water Source Issues
 Surface: BC, VC, Sinaloa,
Michoacan, Tamaulipas,
Tabasco, Morelos (50/50)
 Well Water > 75% states
 90% of total industrial use
 Quality Concerns: Mg, Ca
(hardness), Silica, Salts
 In General, with RO systems
 Industrial Prices
 2009 Domestic and
Industrial Price Info
 Industrial Well Water
 Conagua – 4 zones
Well: $.10 to 1.50 US
Surface: $.10 to $1 US
 Real Water Situation
 Well access insufficient
 Treated Water: Cost to
mfg: $.25, price: $1.50
 Municipal – High: $2.25

4. I. Water Prices, Top 6 Cities
Pesos per m3, 2014 Exchange Rate: 13 Pesos to 1 USD

5. I. Mexican Domestic & Industrial
Water Prices: 2009 vs Today
2009 Average Exchange Rate: 13 pesos to 1 USD

6. I. Industrial Water Reuse Issues
 Types of Reuse
 For Process: ZLD
 For Other Uses
 Drivers
 Water Scarcity
 Water Cost
 Water Quality Issues
 wells, quality needed
 Conagua restrictions
 Corporate Culture
 Priority Areas
 Sectors – Petrochem,
Automotive, Paper,
Commercial, Metals,
F&B, Cooling Towers
 Regions – Northern
states, some Central
states, high water
treatment states,
industrial areas.

7. II. General Wastewater Issues

8. II. Water & Wastewater Regulations
 Wastewater Regulations
 By where water goes:
 NOM 001: Federal bodies
 Rivers, Lakes, Coasts
 TSS 75, BOD 75
 NOM 002: Municipal
 Sewer/Drainage System
 By Reuse Applications
 NOM 003 = Water Reuse
 Indirect: TSS & BOD 30
 Direct: TSS & BOD 20
 NOM 004 = Sludge/Mud
 Fees for wastewater
discharge
 Article 277-B Ley Federal
de Derechos
 Trimester discharge volumes x
factor according to industrial
activity and discharge location.
 $.85 to 1.90 per m3
 Potable Regulations
 NOM 127
 Often specified for
reuse project apps
 TDS = 1000

9. II. NOM 001:
Discharges into Federal Bodies
M.A. = Monthly Average; D.A. = Daily Average
(1) Instantaneous
(2) Simple sample weighted average
(3) Absent as per the Test Method defined in the NMX-AA-006.

10. II. NOM 001 (continued)
(*) Measured in full.
D.A. = Daily Average M.A.= Monthly Average NA = Not applicable
(A) (B) and (C): Receiving Body type according to Government Service Charges
Law.

11. II. Wastewater Standards:II. Wastewater Standards:
US vs MexicoUS vs Mexico
 Significant differences between systems:
Standards Levels & Materials Tested
 Basis for Analysis: BOD and TSS
 Others: Not regularly monitored or required
Labs: Samplying frequencies, sample control
Metering Realities
Viable Regulations & Enforcement
 Local vs State vs Federal
Fines, Civil & Penal Liabilities, Closures
 Increasing and improviing but still insufficient

12. II. State Treatment Good & Bad:
% Treatment & Reuse Tendencies
 Good: 10 States (> 2/3)
 85-100%: Nuevo Leon, Baja
California, Aguascalientes,
Nayarit, Tamaulipas
 80-65%: Guerrero, Sinaloa,
Durango, Chihuahua, BCS
 Average (40-65%)
 50-65%: SLP, QR, Colima,
Guanajuato, Tlaxcala
 40-50%: Coahuila, Puebla,
Queretaro,Jalisco*,Sonora,
Veracruz, Oaxaca
 Bad: < 30% treatment
 < 10%: Yucatan,
Campeche, Hidalgo
 14% Mexico City*
 20-25%: Zacatecas,
Tabasco, Chiapas
 25-30% Mexico State,
Michoacah, Morelos
 New, Large Plants
coming on-line
 DF/Mexico State (20-40%)
 Jalisco (27-48%)

13. III. Industrial Wastewater Issues

14. III. Industrial Wastewater Treated
Industrial Wastewater Flow - from 64.5 (97) to 190 (2010) to 210m3/s.
Treated Flow - from 5.3 (9% of flow) to 36.7 (19%) to 60.7m3/s (29%)
BOD Treatment: from 8% (97) to 19% (2010) to 13% – Not good sign

15. III. % Wastewater Treated…..
Past Conagua goals: 2012: 60% total treatment; 2015: 100% water reuse;
2025: all muni/industrial wastewater treated; Current Goals: very general

16. III.Industrial Plants by State 2010
Focus should begin to switch from refurbishing current to new plants
- Operating Capacity 2010: 50% - Installed 72m3/s; Treated 36.7m3/s
- Operating Capacity 2014: 81% - Installed 75m3/s; Treated 60.7m3/s

17. III. 2010-2013 State Industrial
Plant Evolution & Growth
 Increases
 Plants (up 450)
 Sonora 210, NL 90,
Campeche 80, Jalisco
35, Guanajuato 90,
Puebla 76, Yucatan 50,
Tamps 45
 Treated Flows (37m3/s)
 Sonora 9m3/s, Tamps 5m3/s,
BCS 5m3/s, Michoacan
3m3s
 7 States = 50% Plants
 Guanajuato, Mexico, NL,
Puebla, Queretaro, Sonora,
Veracruz
 Plants Decreases
 BC 11, SLP 31, Tlax 30
 DF from 200 to 5
 Mexico from 315 to 241
 Treated Flows (m3/s)
 Puebla, Hidalgo,Mexico

18. III. Industrial Plants by Type
(2010 vs 2013)
Industrial Plants: 2186 vs 2617 (Up 20%)
 Primary: 731 (33.4%) to 839 (32%) = 21.8m3/s
 Adjusting PH levels & removing TSS > .1mm
 > 50% in Veracruz & Chiapas: Basic Treatment
 Secondary: 1193 (54.6%) to 1555 (59.4%) = 34.8m3/s
 Removing colloidal & dissolved organic materials
 57% in 4 states: Mexico, Veracruz, N.L., Hidalgo
 Tertiary: 88 (4%) to 74 (2.8%) = 1.2m3/s – Too Low ??????
 Removing dissolved materials, metals, reuse driven
 With renewed reuse focus, #, decrease, flow seem odd
 Other: 174 (8%) to 149 (5.7%) = 3m3/s
 Some if not most probably with some kind of reuse or tertiary-like focus

19. III. Municipal Plants by Type
2010 Plants - Decreases: Activated Sludge: 46%, Ponds: 24%, Advanced Primary 11%

20. III. Industrial Sector PrioritiesSector Priorities
Top Priorities, heaviest
polluters
High Frequency & Flow Priorities
1. Food & Beverage – Growth
with influent water and
wastewater treatment reuse
1. Chemicals / Pharmaceuticals –
moderately strong sector with influent water
quality issues and discharge concerns
2. Metalworking / Automotive
Large & Growing, Tier 1 & 2
issues, OEM compliant
2. Textile / Clothing / Leather – many medium
& small producers who are not compliant
3. Paper - Highly regulated,
Improved mfging processes,
maintenance tendencies
3. Petroleum / Petrochemical (Pemex) – hope
for significant work in wastewater, oil prices
and Pemex problems slowing growth
4. Sugar – Requires regular,
on-going investments, but
spending questionable
4. MicroElectronics – relatively small but
growing sector with significant influent water
quality and effluent discharge concerns

21. III. Industrial Wastewater
Opportunities
- Industrial – Strength of 2015 Economy
- 500,000 mfging companies discharging, 15,000 large companies
- Types of Plants & Technologies – Influent & Effluent
- Still conventional demand with strong secondary treatment focuses
- Membranes over Conventional: MF & UF growing along with reuse growth
- Commercial & Infrastructure (Wastewater, Reuse, Desal )
- Resorts, Residential, Hotels, Restaurants, Golf Courses – 100+ plants year
- Real Estate Development has been down, construction bounce back?
- Macro Wastewater Treatment and resale: Muni, Industrial parks
- Industry Water Reuse & Savings Emphasis
- Reuse: 5 billion m3 a year, 75% muni vs 25% industrial; 10% of wastewater
- Industrial water prices rising, access limits in Northern Mexico
- Pre-use/Influent Treatment vs Reuse vs Discharge
- Pre-use & Reuse = clearer need/demand; Discharge = enforcement driven

22. III. Tips for Mexico Opportunities
 Good Market for Imported, US Goods
 Water Sector: 70% Imported, 2/3 from the US
 Many if not most filtration/membrane needs come from abroad
 Selling through local distributors and integrators
 Importance for relationship sales, service
 Need for local interaction, supervision, support
 Bring financing/credit plan
 Can enter market without but will struggle vs will thrive with
 Identify and follow regional indicators?
 Problem areas, scarcity, enforcement factors
 Key factors in selling filtration systems
 Pilot systems, pre-chemistry analysis, integrator proactivity
 Interaction with clients vs local intermediaries defining targets

23. Contact Information
 Vince Lencioni, Porex Corporation
Latin America Sales Manager
 Atizapan, State of Mexico, Mexico
 T. 011 52 555 378-3890
 Vince.lencioni@porex.com
 Business Cards: To Receive Presentation