The Pollution of Dams in Mexico: Research Progress Analyzed by a Bibliometric Approach

Water is an essential resource for life and socioeconomic development, but pollution represents a major threat to its availability and quality. Specifically, dams are considered valuable infrastructures for water storage, with relevant importance to sustain economic activities like electric generation, agriculture, fishing, and tourism. However, the pollution of the water contained in these reservoirs is turning the systems into dangerous focal points for health and the environment. This study centers on evaluating the research efforts regarding the pollution status of dams in Mexico, through a bibliometric approach. The methodology consisted in conducting a bibliographic search in Web of Science (WoS), considering information from the last 20 years. Then, the retrieved data were subjected to different approaches for further analysis, using tools from WoS and VOSviewer. The still ongoing construction of dams reflects the growing demand for water and energy. However, accelerated industrial development will also continue, introducing toxic agents to these reservoirs. Thus, the objective of the current analysis is to provide an updated view of what is known about the pollution of dams in Mexico and to identify areas that require further attention. The degradation caused to superficial water bodies by anthropogenic activities is alarming. Due to the importance of dams to sustain socio-economic activities in our country, it seems crucial to promote multidisciplinary approaches to study these complex polluted systems in order to envision sustainable solutions for the treatment of the water contained in these infrastructures and, even more, their integral management.