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<br />MEXICAN WATER TREATY
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<br />21
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<br />8. LEGISLATION RECOMMENDED
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<br />, A number of questions left unsettled by the treaty can be resolved
<br />by domestic legislation. Indeed, the treaty's silence on some of these
<br />points was defended upon that ver;v ground, and the Mexican resolu-
<br />tion of ratification, supra, the MexICan Senate-
<br />refrains. from conSidering! because it is not competent to pass judgment upon them,
<br />the provisions which re ate exclusively to the internal application of the treaty
<br />withm the United States of America and by its own authorlties-
<br />etc. It seems imperative that these blanks be closed by domestic
<br />law before the circumstances, interpretations, and explanations re-
<br />sponsible for the ratification of the treaty by the American Senate fade
<br />too far into thepast. Among the objectives of such legislation appear '
<br />the following: ,
<br />(a) Construction of Sentinel Dam, to control the floods of .the Gila,
<br />before the Mexican diversion dam is permitted to obstruct the main
<br />str.earn of the Colorado. The Gila, not the Colorado, furnished the
<br />flood which broke into Imperial Valley in,1905-06, and the building
<br />of the Mexican diversion dam recreates the danger of a similar diSaster.
<br />(b) Definition of the spheres of jurisdiction of the Secretary of the
<br />Interior and the Secretary of State, now covered only by a transitory
<br />interdepartmental memorandum. The majority repOrt, in this re-
<br />spect, assumes that works used only partly for treaty purposes will
<br />be under the-- .
<br />control. of thOSe Federal agencies which now or hereafter may be vested by domestio
<br />Jaw with such jurisdiotion and control.
<br />(c) Protective works and control oj waste water.-The Secretary of the
<br />Interior must be authorized to do what reservation (k) contemplates,
<br />namely, assure the Salton Sea Basin from flooding by Mexican waste
<br />water. The one sure control is through the seasonal timing of t)1e
<br />releases from the storage dams under the Secretary's control. "
<br />Cd) Standard, for the de.termination of "surplus" or "excess" en-
<br />titling Mexico to 1,700,000 acre-feet under article 10 (b) of the treaty.
<br />Everyone, at least on this side of the border, agrees that this is a matter
<br />for American determination, but by whom and how? .'
<br />It should be borne in mind, and the point cannot be overemphasized,
<br />that the guaranty of 1,500,000 acre-feet means a real obligation of
<br />1,700,000 acre-feet, plus reservoir losses, before giving any considera-
<br />tion at all to the 'lsurplus" clause. This is for the, reason that the
<br />United States gets no credit for water delivered in excess of the sched-
<br />ule fixed by Mexico, but is charged with all deficiencies. For instance
<br />if a heavy wind retards arrival of the ordered water at the border on
<br />Monday by 500 second-feet (wbich is quite normal), and this water
<br />comes down on .Tuesday; over and above the amount scheduled, the
<br />United States gets no credit for Tuesday's excess but is charged with
<br />Monday's shortage. As 8, minimum, 200,000 acre-feet annually will
<br />be thus thrown out of any accounting. Mexico, in normal years, will
<br />~et not less than 1,70QlOOO acre-feet and be charged with 1,500,000;
<br />ill surplus years, she wiil get not less than 1,900,000 acre-feet, and .be
<br />charged with 1,700,000.' , . .
<br />(e) Use oj the AU-American Ganaljor supplying such surplus.-The
<br />treaty (art. 15-D) assumes that when there isa surplus, additional
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