The central zone of Mexican citrus-producing state Tamaulipas has overused groundwater resources by around 10 million cubic meters, due to lower rain levels and a lack of guidelines, website Hoytamaulipas.net reported.

Ricardo Sepúlveda Cantú from the state's arm of the National Rural Confederation (CNC) attributed the problem to federal government concessions many years ago for aquifiers and rivers, without sufficient impact studies.

Mexico's National Water Commission (CONAGUA) has announced permits for new wells will not be given in the region, which covers the rural communities of Victoria, Güemes and Padilla, the story reported.

A commission representative told the website the consequences of opening new wells would be serious, as they could collapse production yields for the citrus industry due to a lack of irrigation water.

It added while the damage was done, the situation could worsen.

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