HOW FAST IS THE POPULATION GROWING?
The population residing in the Chapala region is growing. Ten municipalities – Jocotepec, Chapala (which includes Ajijic), Poncitlan, Ocotlan, Jamay, La Barca, Briseñas, Venustiano Carranza, Cojumatlan de Regules, Tizapán el Alto and Tuxcueca – border the lake. While a small number of the people living in these municipalities do not actually live in the lake basin, most depend for their water on either the lake or its surrounding water table. Hence, we can use the total population figures of these ten municipalities as a surrogate measure of population pressure on the lake. The preliminary results of the 2000 Census show that the combined population of the ten municipalities is 292,899, compared with an equivalent figure of 218,996 in 1980. These numbers mean that the population of the ten lake municipalities has grown by about 1.5% a year since 1980, slightly less rapidly than the 1.6% rate for 1970-80. Water is also taken from Lake Chapala to Guadalajara, a city whose population is i
