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"0'" r:::59' u .1 ~ . 2002] THE lAST GREEN lAGOON 915 or serious accident," and up to 1.7 maf in surplus years. 53 The Mexico-U.S. Water Treaty also established the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to assist in the management of U.S. and Mexican transborder resources. 54 Composed of a United States section (provided with foreign policy guidance by the U.S. Department of State) and a corresponding Mexican section, 55 IBWC is authorized to build and manage waterworks, to resolve problems and negotiate further agreements regarding international waters, and to settle treaty- interpretation disputes.56 IBWC decisions, referred to as Minutes, are deemed approved by each country unless disapproved within 30 days after execution by the IBWC Commissioners. 57 Under the Mexico-U.S. Water Treaty, IBWC has authority over the boundary delineation along the land boundary, the boundary sections of the Rio Grande and Colorado Rivers, the works located on their common boundroy, and any project that lies entirely within either country if its construction or management will affect international treaty compliance.58 The Mexico-U.S. 53. li"eaty Between the United States of America and Mexico Respecting Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and TIjuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, Feb. 3. 1944, U.S.-Mex., art. 10. 59 Stat. 1219. 1237 (1944) [hereinafter "Mexico-U.S. Water li"eaty"), reprinted in Ray L. WILBUR & NORTHCUIT ELY, THE HOOVER DAM DOCUMENTS A831 (1948). Mexico currently uses its entire limit in order to supply the fast-growing cities ofTIjuana and Mexicali and to irrigate more than 530.000 acres of land in the Mexicali Valley. See Douglas A. Hayes, The AU-American Canal Uning Prqject: A Catalyst for Rational and Comprehensive Groundwater Management on the United States-Mexico Border, 31 NAT. REsOURCES J. 803, 808 (1991). As a result, virtually all water delivered over the border is diverted for human use; none remains to support the Delta ecosystem. lei. at 808. In addition, groundwater exhaustion in the northern Mexicali Valley is expected to worsen as a result of planned conservation measures along the All-American Canal, cutting seepage that replenishes groundwater supplies. See John H. Coglin, AU-American Canal Project Sparks Test Casefor Transboundary Groundwater Law, 14 B.C: lNT'L & COMPo L. REv. 159 (1991). 54. The International Boundary and Water Commission (lBWC) descends from the older International Boundary Commission (lBC), which was established by treaty in 1889. See INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION, Two COUNTRIES, THEIR BORDERAND1HEIRWATERS 10-1l(n.d.). The Mexico-U.S. Water li"eaty transferred all of theIBC's powers to the IBWC, and expanded its jurisdiction. See generally Sinclair, supra note 33. The IBWC is composed of two national sections; the U.S. office receives foreign policy guidance from the State Department, and is headquartered in EI Paso, Texas. See George R. Hesse. Securing Tangible Results of Self-Determination: A Scheme to Solicit Support from the International Boundary and Water Commissionfor Indigenous People's Water Rights Claims, 8 ARIz. J. lNT'L & COMPo L. 149, 152 (1991). 55. See Hesse, supra note 54. at 152. 56. See Mexico-U.S. Water Treaty, supra note 53, Art. 24. 59 Stat. at 1255-1257. 57. Id., art. 25, 59 Stat. at 1257-58. 58. See Sinclair, supra note 33. at 111-112..