Dry Rio Grande Point of U.S./Mexico Friction
SILVER CITY, New Mexico, May 17, 2002 (ENS) - The Rio Grande,
the river dividing the United States from Mexico, no longer reaches the Gulf
of Mexico into which it has emptied for millions of years. The water has
stopped flowing due to a sandbar formed by several years of low water levels
plus high water usage in drought stricken northern Mexico.
Left high and dry, Texas politicians are threatening retaliation
in what has become an acrimonious water dispute between the two countries.
"Sharing the Waters," a report issued today by the
Interhemispheric Resource Center, a nonprofit policy studies center,
outlines the international dispute over the waters of the Rio Grande and Rio
Bravo rivers in Texas and Mexico.
The Rio Grande forms the border between the United States and
Mexico. Here it flows through Big Bend National Park. (Photo credit unknown)
The report by Mary Kelly and Karen Chapman of the Texas Center
for Policy Studies shows how Texas officials have accused Mexico of a
failure to live up to its obligations under the 1944 binational treaty
governing the waters of the river basin and how the resources are to be
shared.
Northern Mexico has replied that it is suffering from a
persistent, severe drought that has reduced capacity in its reservoirs to
dangerous levels.
One of the largest reservoirs in the Mexican portion of the
basin, La Boquilla on the R�o Conchos in Chihuahua, is at about 20 percent
of normal capacity.
Further down the Conchos, the Lu�s Le�n reservoir is at less
than 20 percent of its normal storage. Mexico's reserves amount to less than
10 percent of that system's capacity.
Under these conditions, short of cutting off all irrigation
south of the border, it is not practical for Mexico to rapidly repay its
current deficit of about 1.4 million acre-feet as agreed under the joint
1944 Amistad/Falcon Reservoir Treaty.
However, many people in Texas are demanding that Mexico abide by
the treaty regardless of the consequences to that country.
Chapman and Kelly say, "Those Texas politicians leading the
charge against Mexico seem to agree with farmers in the Lower Rio Grande
Valley of Texas who maintain that Mexico is purposefully managing its part
of the Rio Grande/R�o Bravo basin in order to deliberately withhold water
and put Texas farmers out of business. They have mounted a sustained
campaign to convince U.S. federal officials that Mexico should be
transferring all its R�o Bravo water through to the Rio Grande instead of
using some of it for irrigation in Chihuahua."
In response, Mexico points out that the many farmers in the area
have had to resort to dryer crops such as grain sorghum in order to survive.
Francisco I. Maderas Dam, located near Delicias, Chihuahua, on
the Conchos River, stores irrigation water and generates hydro power for the
region. (Photo by Enrique Rios Gonzalez courtesy Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Basin
Coalition)
The government of Mexico has signaled its intent to tackle these
problems by announcing plans for 11 irrigation modernization projects in the
northern part of the country. A series of new water recycling programs has
been started as a way to meet its water debts and address its own domestic
water needs.
The joint U.S.-Mexico North American Development Bank, created
in a side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement, proposes to
fund $40 million of the $420 million total price tag that Mexico's National
Water Commission estimates as the total cost of the irrigation and municipal
infrastructure improvements project.
Most federal officials in Washington have maintained a low
profile on the issue. But constant pressure from Texas officials, widespread
media coverage and lack of progress in resolving the dispute could bring
attention from the federal government.
Earlier this week, President George W. Bush, formerly governor
of Texas, discussed the water issue with Mexican President Vincente Fox, who
responded with a public statement promising Mexico will establish a plan for
paying its water debt within 15 days.
Last week, Mexican and U.S. conservation organizations convened
a forum in Chihuahua to discuss what cooperative actions can be taken to
protect and restore the R�o Conchos basin.
Chapman and Kelly warn that further escalation of the dispute
could damage the bilateral relationship, affecting the two countries'
ability to cooperate on water issues along other parts of the border, and
threaten progress on other issues such as immigration and economic
development.
In the near term, says Chapman and Kelly, the governments must
agree on a formula for allocating what rain does fall this year. A realistic
payment plan for the current deficit, based on actual rainfall, is needed.
In addition, the two countries must come to an agreement on a
drought management plan for the Rio Grande/R�o Bravo basin.
The governments are supposed to convene a binational summit to
develop an overall sustainable management plan for the basin, involving key
water user groups, conservation organizations, and state and local
governments. This concept was originally proposed by Mexico and embodied in
a March 2001 agreement between the countries. But the current dispute
appears to have stalled action on the idea.
The full report from the Texas Center for Policy Studies (TCSP)
can be found online at:
http://www.americaspolicy.org/commentary/2002/0205water.html
...............................................
Be the change
you want to see in the world.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
