WSPC12525

• File Number: 8282.400
• Description: Colorado River Operations and Accounting - Deliveries to Mexico
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 9/11/2001
• Author: Unknown
• Title: Colorado River Delta Symposium - United States-Mexico - Mexicali-Baja California - Symposium Report - Reviewed Copy with Staff Notes- 09-11-01
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

first time, importance was placed on irrigation,
focusing specifically on the irrigation districts,
laws regulating water use and the regulation of
national waters. All of this was integral to
development of hydraulic resources and estab-
lished the executive commissions within the
main water basins in Mexico.
From 1976 to 1994 brought the advent of the
Secretariat of Agriculture and this established
much of the federal water law for Mexico. There
were two sets of regulations: one that handled
recuperation of infrastructure through federal
financing contributions and the other that dealt
with discharges to national waters or property.
In 1989, the National Water Commission was
established and the focus of Mexico's water
program changed from hydraulic infrastructure
to more of an economic focus given that water is
such a scarce commodity. However, its main
role remains to administer and keep custody of
national waters, manage the hydraulic system
and to produce and promote social develop-
ment.
With regards to international waters, the
primary role of the commission is to: provide
titles, concessions and permits; maintain a public
registry of water rights; exercise fiscal aspects;
and maintain the existing hydraulic program
while continuing to develop new programs. This
includes both the irrigation systems and the
drinking water systems.
@egallY, laws require a concession to use
\ ~ waters and as such, one must maintain certain
~ \ water quality and quantity standards and to
maintain an ecological equilibrium. This in-
cludes the preservation of the environment and
the general health of the public. Such concession
do have a termination period (though the
definition of such is unclear) but can be ex-

~tended'
- A recent situation in Mexico has established

that such concessions can be suspended, espe-

cially if customers do not pay for exploiting

COLORADO ational waters, under federal water rights law.
RIVER DELTA f f h . dId
B N I aspects 0 t e conceSSiOn are not ec are ,
1- ATIONAL
SYMPOSIUM such as place of use or amount of water to be

PROCEEDINGS

ENGLISH
30

used, concessions can be suspended. Too little or
too much water use can result in concession
suspension. To transfer a permit from one user
to another, permitees must request authorization
from the commission if it will impact third-party
users.
rotecting against water pollution is neces-
sary. The commission determines the parameters
of the discharges and treatment and was estab-
lished under a 1996 regulation. Sanctions and
mes can be levied against violators. If you use
water, then you pay for it and the same holds
true for discharges.
Agricultural water users have a variety of
rules to uphold, depending on if the water is
going to an irrigation district or directly to an
agricultural field. There is water scarcity in
northern Mexico that will make growth difficult
and the result will likely be a shift in water from
a riculture to other uses. Water projections for
the future show we will not have enough water
to go around. About 83 percent of water use
goes towards agriculture, about 12 percent for
public use and five percent for industrial use.
Agriculture also suffers from low efficiency,
contributing about 45 to 60 percent of water
losses.
From central Mexico to the north, Mexico
averages about 1,830 cubic meters of water per
year. By contrast, the southern portion of the
country sees around 15,000 cubic meters. Re-
gions such as Sonora and Baja get under 1,000
cubic meters of water - a very low availability.
The majority of Mexico's population, about 77
percent, lives in the northeast and central part of
the country and produces the majority of the
goods and services. It would make sense to
move the population to the southern end of the
~untry but to do such is nearly impossible.
Aquifers in the northern region of the country
also are overdrafted. About two-thirds of the
groundwater is used for urban uses and about
one-third by agriculture. Some of the aquifers
also suffer from water quality problems, such as
pollution. In a 1999 sampling of 478 wells (about