Cozumel adds 25 new wells to its drinking water supply, the last eight due on November 12

Cozumel has 25 new wells feeding its drinking water supply. Seventeen were already pumping when Quintana Roo's governor, Mara Lezama Espinosa, presented the work on the island alongside the mayor, José Luis Chacón, and the remaining eight were due to enter service on Thursday, November 12, 2026.

The governor framed the wells as an answer to a long-standing complaint rather than a new project: "Esta obra responde a una petición de muchos años de las familias cozumeleñas," she said, which translates as "this work answers a request that Cozumel's families have been making for many years."

What was built

The work was carried out by the state water utility, the Comisión de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado (CAPA), in the island's water-capture zone. It covered drilling the wells to a depth of 15 meters, fitting submersible pumps, laying conduction pipes to carry the water, and the electrical work and control systems to run them, according to the state government's bulletin of November 8 and reports by Quadratín Quintana Roo and Marcrix Noticias. The new wells add to the 134 the island already had in operation, according to the state government. The stated reasons are demand from local families and the growth of both the resident population and tourism.

What was not said

Three things a resident would want to know were not announced: how much the work cost, how much extra water the 25 wells add, in liters per second or any other measure, and which colonias will notice the difference first. Until CAPA publishes those figures, the honest description is more wells and more pumping capacity, not a measured improvement at the tap.

The timing also matters on the island. In September, Por Esto reported, residents and local organizations marched against the planned 136-million-peso rehabilitation of Cozumel's malecón, asking that the money go instead to basic services, including drinking water, street maintenance and garbage collection "La prioridad para muchas familias es contar con servicios básicos en condiciones adecuadas," said Guadalupe Cab, one of those who spoke: the priority for many families is having basic services that work properly. The wells do not settle that argument, but drinking water was on the marchers' list.

For more on how the island is changing, see the new undersea power cable to Cozumel and our guide to the Cozumel and Isla Mujeres ferries.

Sources: Gobierno del Estado de Quintana Roo, "Con 25 nuevos pozos, Mara Lezama impulsa el abasto de agua en Cozumel," November 8, 2026; Quadratín Quintana Roo, "Suman 25 nuevos pozos para mejorar el abasto de agua en Cozumel," November 8, 2026; Marcrix Noticias, "Mara anuncia 25 nuevos pozos para mejorar el suministro de agua en Cozumel," November 9, 2026; Por Esto, "Habitantes de Cozumel marchan contra rehabilitación del malecón," September 16, 2026.