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<br />oaa483 <br />Summary of Water Resources in Northern Mexico . <br /> <br />. There are too few data available related to irrigation practices, cropping patterns, and crop <br />consumptive use rates to quantify the water demand of agricultural users in Mexicali and San <br />Luis Valleys. Nearly all of the water resources made available to Mexico by the U.S. through <br />deliveries of Colorado River water in satisfaction of the 1944 water treaty or indirect means in <br />the form of groundwater underflow, are consumed by agricultural users. Therefore, it is <br />essential that their consumptive use demand be quantified and that irrigation practices are well <br />understood so that all potential opportunities to supply water from sources within Mexico are <br />identified. <br /> <br />. An analysis of satellite imagery for the month of June for the years 1984, 1998, and 2000 was <br />performed in an attempt to determine the amount of irrigated acreage in Mexicali and San Luis <br />Valleys, and use the irrigated acreage to calculate crop consumptive use. The analysis yielded <br />fewer irrigated acres than the values reported by the Rio Colorado Irrigation District and CNA, <br />suggesting that a more complete analysis using satellite imagery from each of the twelve <br />months for any given year would be necessary to produce any meaningful results. <br /> <br />. Groundwater production data is limited to a few years in which the data was reported by CNA <br />or estimated by IBWC. The data is reported as a combined total, making it difficult to determine <br />the temporal and spatial distribution of groundwater production. <br /> <br />Summary <br />Given the lack of data related to crop consumptive use and groundwater production in Mexico, it is <br />difficult to construct a realistic water budget for the area and to determine the total agricultural, <br />municipal and industrial, and environmental water demand and the volume of water within Mexico <br />that may be available to meet those demands. A comprehensive database containing data and <br />information related to water management, irrigation practices, crop consumptive use, the magnitude <br />and distribution of groundwater production and irrigation drainage would be required to complete a <br />meaningful analysis from which the most effective solutions could be identified. The ensuing pages <br />of this document provide a summary of some of the available data and information related to water <br />resources in northern Mexico. <br /> <br />Page 2 of 10 <br /> <br />Seven Basin States June 1, 2002 <br />