Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez Gómez toured two major water infrastructure projects this week, announcing that Desalination Plant No. 2 in Cabo San Lucas has reached 73% completion. The facility will add 250 liters per second to the municipal drinking water network and is expected to serve more than 464,000 residents once operational.
The new plant carries an estimated price tag of 1.8 billion pesos (roughly $90 million USD). It represents the municipality’s second desalination facility, coming as the existing plant near the Diamante and Nobu resort area has struggled with output. In December 2024, that first plant was reported to be operating at just 36% capacity, worsening chronic water shortages across Cabo San Lucas.
Second Major Project: Wastewater Treatment
Agúndez also inspected progress on PTAR La Sonoreña 2, a wastewater treatment plant under construction in the Santa Rosa area alongside the existing La Sonoreña facility. The project is funded with 915 million pesos (about $46 million USD) in federal money and will process up to 600 liters per second of wastewater when complete.
The new treatment plant will replace the aging Fonatur facility. Officials said the old Fonatur plant site will be converted into an ecological park designed to protect the Estero Josefino, a coastal estuary in the San José del Cabo area. No timeline was given for either project’s completion, though the municipality pledged regular updates through official channels.
Why It Matters for Los Cabos
Los Cabos has faced a deepening water crisis for years. The municipality’s primary aquifer is severely stressed by rapid population growth, resort development, and limited rainfall. The local water utility, OOMSAPAS (the Municipal Agency for Drinking Water, Sewage, and Sanitation), has struggled to maintain consistent service across neighborhoods in both Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.
Sewage overflows have also been a recurring problem, particularly during peak tourist season when the population swells well beyond permanent resident counts. The new wastewater treatment capacity is intended to reduce untreated discharge into local waterways and coastal areas.
The first Los Cabos desalination plant, built by GS Inima with a capacity of about 20,736 cubic meters per day, was the first seawater desalination plant for human consumption in Mexico. Plant No. 2 is designed to roughly double the municipality’s desalinated water supply.
This story was first reported by the Los Cabos municipal government at loscabos.gob.mx.