WSP09503

• File Number: 8278.400
• Description: Title I - Mexican Treaty
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 5/10/1962
• Author: CWCB - D. Hamburg
• Title: Mexican Water Treaty Negotiations Pertaining to the Colorado River
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

I

The article goes on to specify that the Department of
State of the united states and the Ministry of Foreign Relations
of Mexico are the agencies to represent the two governments in
every case where action by the two governments is required. The
commission itself is an engineering organization. The object of
the commission seems to be to create greater efficiency in dealing
with boundary matters rather than going through various agencies
which may have overlapping jurisdiction in matters of boundary and
water problems. The purpose of extending diplomatic immunity was
to remedy a situation in the United states since diplomatic of-
ficials were created by the statutes and it would have been
extremely difficult to make a general and perhaps undesirable
far-reaching amendment of these statutes.

Article 3

This article prescribes a certain order of preferences
of uses to serve as a guide to the commission in matters in which
it may be called upon to make provision far the joint use of inter-
national waters. This article appears to have very limited scope
and application.

Article 10

Section (a) of Article 10 provides a guaranteed annual
quantity of 1,500,000 acre-feet of water to be delivered to
Mexico.

section (b) provides that the United States will deliver
to Mexico beyond this minimum quantity whenever the United States
section decides there is a surplus of water, an additional quantity
of 200,000 acre-feet or a total of 1,700,000 acre-feet per year.

The following language of Article 10 is important and is
quoted below:

"Mexico shall acquire no right beyond that provided by this
sub-paragraph by the use of the waters of the Colorado
River system, for any purpose whatsoever, in excess of
1,500,000 acre-feet annually." (Emphasis supplied).

The above underlined terms will be discussed at greater length but
it is significant to note at this point that it was estimated
that, under ultimate conditions of development in the United States,
more than half, or approximately 900,000 acre-feet, of Mexico's
allocation would consist of return and drainage flows and other

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