WSP01461 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 3. LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES The availability of water in the Rio Grande Region for new uses is highly restricted, and in fact, to a large extent, water is available only through the purchase of previously established rights. The diversion of surface waters in this Region has a long and turbulent history. Although each state administers water differently, there are rigid restrictions in each state. Since the Rio Grande is an interstate and inter- national stream and subject to several treaties with the Republic of Mexico, as well as to interstate compacts, additional restrictions are imposed on the amount of water available for diversion for any purpose. The question of over-appropriation of surface waters arose as early as 1896 when the U.S. Secretary of Interior suspended right-of-way applications for access across public lands as a means of controlling irrigation water usage after landowners in the El Paso area had complained of excessive diver- sions from the River in the upper basin. In essence, this embargoed further development of irrigation throughout the New Mexico and Colorado reaches of the River. In 1898, the Republic of Mexico filed a $35 million suit against the United States essentially for damages because of the limited quantities of water reaching the El Paso-Juarez area. These actions, and others, led to a series of interstate and international agreements which today control the flow and use of water in the Rio Grande. Increased competition for surface water in the Region during the past twenty years has resulted in a greater awareness of ground water resources, and extensive development. In some cases mlnlng of ground water has occurred. Control of ground water withdrawals is the responsibility of the states, and laws have been adopted in Colorado and New Mexico which established appropriative systems for allocating certain ground water suppl ies. \::::,~ ,~ 51