Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, November 5, 2026 – Conagua is directing residents to its complaints portal over suspected irregular groundwater discharges, according to an interview published November 4.
Ricardo Valdez Salas, an official with the federal water agency’s Lerma-Santiago-Pacific basin office, said that inspections are ongoing and violations can lead to fines or closures. He could not specify how many cases had been detected locally.
“If you see any irregular discharge, you can report it to this page called PODAN,” he said, translated from Spanish.
The published account provided no permit numbers, inspection dates or enforcement decisions for the local developments it described. That leaves residents with a practical question: does reporting a building lead to an inspection and a lasting correction?
Conagua’s complaint rules establish a first checkpoint: notification of where a report has been referred within 15 working days, subject to requests for additional information. They do not promise an inspection or a solution within that period.
The buildings behind the complaints
In Versalles, at the Aymara development, at Berlín and Aldanaca, groundwater was being pumped from the underground parking construction into a stormwater inlet connected to the Vena de Santa María canal. Its November report again identified the development among the local cases.
On 5 de Diciembre, the dispute had already prompted a municipal intervention. Vallarta Daily reported on the August 14, 2025, neighborhood protest that pushed officials to address years of runoff on Guatemala Street.
In its own August 20, 2025, statement, SEAPAL attributed the problem to a private development and proposed a four-inch pipe to carry groundwater to Arroyo Camarones. The utility said the issue was outside its direct remit, although it would provide technical support.
According to an announcement, work began September 1, 2025. The announced project involved 220 meters of PVC pipe, with an estimated construction period of 20 working days.
That history shows how a complaint can produce work to remove water from a street. Whether the underlying pumping has the required authorizations is a separate question, answered by permits and inspection records.
Where the water goes changes the problem
SEAPAL has also identified groundwater entering the sanitary sewer as an infrastructure problem. In an October 22 statement about Versalles, operations director Alejandro Padilla said rainwater and groundwater were reaching pipes designed for wastewater, adding volumes that could exceed the system’s capacity during rain.
The utility reported obstructions of up to 40% of the internal diameter in sections of the Centro-Norte collector. It proposed stronger pumping and clearing work, measures covered in Vallarta Daily’s report on the Versalles sewage commitments.
Those findings explain why a building’s pumped water destination matters. Authorities must identify a stormwater outlet and a sanitary sewer connection separately when investigating a discharge.
The National Water Law also distinguishes responsibilities. Article 88 requires federal permission for wastewater discharged into national waters or other covered receiving sites, while municipalities control wastewater discharges into urban drainage and sewer systems.
Applying those provisions to a particular building requires establishing the water’s characteristics, its destination and the authorizations governing the work. Calling a flow “groundwater” does not settle those questions.
Conagua’s public water-rights register provides a route to checking registered titles and permits. Its search page lists a September 30, 2026, data cutoff. A meaningful check needs to match the authorization to the property, titleholder, and activity involved.
What residents should receive after reporting
Residents can submit suspected irregularities through PODAN, the Portal de Denuncias de Aguas Nacionales. A useful report identifies the address, dates and times, where the water emerges, and where it appears to go. Photographs can help distinguish a recurring discharge from a single incident.
Under the portal’s published rules, reports may be anonymous, but you must provide an email address. Supporting digital evidence must not exceed 25 MB. If Conagua requests more information, the complainant has 10 working days to respond; otherwise, the complaint is treated as not submitted.
The system must email an acknowledgment with a folio number. Conagua must then notify the complainant of the referral within 15 working days of receipt, or after the additional-information process where applicable. Conagua must refer matters outside its jurisdiction to the competent authority.
An acknowledgment establishes that a complaint arrived. To assess enforcement, residents need the later record: whether an inspection occurred, what it found, and what corrective action followed.
The current water law requires an enforcement decision to identify the facts, corrective measures, sanctions and compliance deadlines. For residents on Guatemala Street or in Versalles, look for an order naming the required work and the date it must be completed.
