BOARD01455

• Board Meeting Date: 6/9/1942
• Description: Table of Contents and Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Minutes

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We answers

a. Principles of equity and comity are determinative of allocation
of the water of an international river.

b. So far as we can ascertain, there is no body of international
law which controls the problem, in the sense of judicial decisions handed
down by a tribunal whose decisions are binding upon nations.

c. In the exeroise of the treaty-making power precedents indicate
that considerations of the preservation of existing uses of the ,vater of an
international stream are given due weight in the light of pertinent physical
facts, and in some cases opportunities for future development are recognized.
These uses are normally fixed as of the time the treaty is made. However,
physical conditions and improvements on the river should be considered in fix-
ing the time as of which the' recognition of beneficial uses should be made.

An illustration of the treaty-making function is the Rio Grande convention
between the United states and Mexico, dated May 21, 1906, relating to the
equitable division of the waters of the Rio Grande above For~ Quitman. After
debate between the two governments as to the existence of any legal right on
the part of Mexico, the United States determined to accord to Mexioo on the
gro~~ds of equity and oomity 60,000 aore-feet of water per annum. The treaty
was made in oontemplation of the construotion of Elephant Butte Dam in New
Mexico, and was designed to afford to Mexico water to irrigate all the lands
in the Juarez Valley which had been benefioially using Rio Grande water for
hundreds of years. The Mexioan government accepted these terms and waived all
rights to ~~ters of the Upper Rio Grande beyond the agreed amount. Thus the
existing Mexican uses originally served from natural flow of the stream were
protected and the United States is entitled to use all other water oonserved
by the dam.

III.

It is clear to this Committee that no allocation of water should be ap-
proved by the States, except with full knowledge of all the proposed.conditions
of delivery.

Respeotfully submitted 1

Arvin B. Shaw, Jr., Chairman
Clifford H. Stone
Gail L. Ireland
G. W. Shute
Fred E. Wilson

After Judge Stone's explanation, Royoe J. Tipton, Consulting Engineer of
the Colorado Water Conservation Board, was called upon to explain the engineer-
ing report and discuss engineering details involved. Mr. Tipton's presentation
continued until 12105 p.m. when the board recessed to reconvene at 2100 p.m.

The meeting reconvened Tuesday, June 9, 1942, at 2:00 p.m. Governor Ralph
L. Carr presided.