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<br />0014'78
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<br />ill:,
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<br />I'orrunatdy, United States and Mexican leader.; and boroee-
<br />. region watet p~licy maker.; are calling fot scrong parmecships at all
<br />levds to address what J:us.beco~~ pe~haps the region's mose.pressing
<br />issue. PcesidentsBush and Fox, at their Seprembee 5, 200 I meering.
<br />. had a fiank discussion about watee cesources, including creary obliga-
<br />Dons. Within the ~ntexc of disrussing obli~tions related to the Rio
<br />Grande Rivee, dlC:Y agr<ed .that both councries could be well served .
<br />through greater cooperation on effective binational watershed man-
<br />agement.
<br />This . bi~ational atten?o~ was echoed on a ~te .level. In
<br />T:u:npico, Tainaulipas, on }une 8, 2001, the govecnorsof the 10
<br />adjoining U.S. and Mexican border ""ces declared that water should
<br />be a prioriry ~e fur theii biniuiomil agenda. . They agr<c:d to 'work c.
<br />joindy .co identifY measureS of cooperation on drOught; manage-
<br />menr.conservaaon. and -sustainable management or the water
<br />resources in the border rcgipn."
<br />
<br />SURFACE WATER SUPPLIES
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<br />. .
<br />The two major surfi~ :wat~ suppli~- for the re&on are "the
<br />, . .
<br />Colorado River and.' the Rio Grande. Both originate as: alpine:
<br />streams in.the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, =d are the lifeblood
<br />of mostly arid l:.nds as they flow to their respecrive end points. The
<br />border region is me naturally ocaJ.rrmg arid "'end member" of these
<br />[\Vo' major river- systems. and available water has. always, .been.
<br />depefldent on a variety of ~pstteam conditions. Water demand con-
<br />. tin~es to i~crease in the. major population centers that. draw drinking
<br />wat<r from both .dtainage basins. Both rivet systems are subject to.
<br />'wet :.nd drought climate ~es; despite numerous storage hciliries
<br />existing in the basins in each country. In the last 10 years, drought
<br />has affected a larger pan of the intecnariomil reach of the Rio Grande
<br />as well "as. reduced. border-region ware! supplies in both .countries.
<br />. The Colorado Rivet,with 94 peccentofthe basin in rhe United
<br />states, is often deseribed as the most regUlated rivee in the United
<br />States: ,The allocation and use of irs waters is governed by.a eo~plex
<br />set of jmernational and United States laws mac.dace back to 1899
<br />an~ eollectivdy are known as the "Law "of the ~ver>>. Mexico .
<br />administers its water allocation under its domestic !aws. The river
<br />provideS wat~ for more rhan 25 million people, 3.7 million acres of
<br />irrigated land and 11.5 billion kilowatt-hours ofhydrodeccric pow-
<br />er., At lease 1O.dams and 80 major ~iversions. interrupt the riyer.
<br />under the overmght of dozens of federal and stare agencies. The.'
<br />Colorado ~ee also supplies waree to a vecy divme lIora and huna
<br />throughou( hs riparian reaches _ in the United' Scates and Mexico,
<br />including irs delta, beforeemprying into the Gulf of California..
<br />
<br />Fifth Report orllJeGoodNe~bhor Duirnnmenlol Boanl
<br />
<br />:"9
<br />
<br />, Undec. the Colorado Rivee Co~pact of 1922, rhe ~ed
<br />avel:.ge annual yield of the Colorado River, 15 million acre feet, is
<br />equally divided between the uppec basin scares of Colorado, New
<br />Mexico, Utah and wyorning. and the lower basin stares of Arizona,
<br />California and Nevada. From these waters, the United States bas the
<br />obLigation. under the 1944. Wate~, Treaty, to deliver to Mexico an
<br />annual allocation of 1.5 million acre feet of Colorado River water.
<br />. Following the absence. of flood flows in the 1960s ~ugi, 1978,
<br />th~ have been flowS into Mexico in excess of Mexico's 1.5 million .
<br />acre feet alloation on 13occasions.
<br />. Border~sta~e - demand on the .wat~rs of the Colo~ River is .
<br />intensive. Since 1996, decnands .;. the three Lower Coiorado River
<br />Basin s~tes. driven primarily by increased .uses in ~na and
<br />~fomia's use in excess ~fits 4.4 milli~n a~ kcc ann~ auocation.
<br />. exoeeded the annual Q,loradoRiveeCompacc allocation .fur the. .
<br />, lowec basin roral of7.5 million acre feec In 1999, a surplus watec
<br />year, the loWer basin consumed 8.2 million a~ Il:et and 2.9 million
<br />.- .
<br />acre fret flowed into Mexico. Californias annual use bas varied from
<br />.'.4.2 to 5.2 ffiillion over the last 10.years'in an at~pt to rupply\wrer ,
<br />ro I6 milli~n people and irrigate 800,000 m. Recendy, CaJjfi,mia, .
<br />made a ~mmiunerlt CiOO'I) to redu~ its we t~ California'~ normal
<br />allocatio~ of 4.4 miUion acre feet, 'through .~ter conservati?n and
<br />. ~culture-~wban-, water tranSfer ~gements over the next 15
<br />years. .
<br />In ~exko. Baja California diverts Colorado River water ~ sup-
<br />. pl~ some th~ee million inhabicants i':1 Mexica1i, Tecate. Tijuana and .
<br />Ensenada via an aquedua system. Tijuana faces a water. shon3gc .
<br />and has engaged in longee-term binational watee supply planning
<br />with San Diego Counry. The immediate effOrt is that of having a
<br />standby arrangecn<nt in place tt, make ecnecgency ddivecy of watet
<br />to 1ijUan~ from Mexico's allo!IDent, conveying it through thc sotith-
<br />, em California aqueducrs. The other dfu~ ~ the ~mpJetion of a fca-.
<br />sibiliry study fOr a binational aqueduct.
<br />Tribal communities also rdy on the Colorado Rivee fur rheir
<br />,water needs. Thirry-fuur Indian reservations oceupy'16.5 pecoent of
<br />the Colorado River basin.' The tribal watee rights, which date ro rhe
<br />establishment of their reservations, or to more recent court decisions.
<br />. have not.yet been completdy adj~dicated. It is widdy believed that
<br />the resolution of this issue w~U hav~ an enon;nous impact on future
<br />. water management in the ~lorado River basin. .
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<br />The Rio Graode, like the Colorado, is highly regulated. Unlike
<br />the Colorado, only about 54 p=t of the Rio Grande &sin is in
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