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J' RomnCalleros

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... of seven states in the American Union and two states in the Mexican Republic. ... forcing anyone toward interdependence, traditions, ways of life, languages, ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: J' RomnCalleros


1
INTERDEPENDENT BORDER WATER SUPPLY ISSUESThe
Imperial and Mexicali Valleys
  • J. Román-Calleros J. Ramírez-Hernández
  • Agricultural Sciences Institute. UABC,
    México
  • Engineering Institute. UABC, México
  • Binational Water Management Planning
    Consideration of Opportunities, Costs, Benefits,
    and Unintended Consequences Secure and
    Sustainable Water in the Border Region by 2020
  • May 6 - 8, 2002
  • Rio Rico, Arizona

2
Interdependence...
  • A dependence that exists among elements of a
    population located in the same region that
    implies understanding and reciprocal
    cooperation.
  •  
  • Interdependence has been the essence of growth
    along the U.S.-Mexico border.

3
Interdependence 154 years of binational
coexistence
  • The Colorado River is the main source of
    water for a binational region consisting of seven
    states in the American Union and two states in
    the Mexican Republic.
  • Although throughout the history of both
    countries, the growth of the two economies has
    been differentiated, this has not been a decisive
    factor in the intense relationship.


4
  • With no document forcing anyone toward
    interdependence, traditions, ways of life,
    languages, nationalities, services, tasks and an
    endless number of other elements are shared in
    the border region. New forms of symbiotic
    coexistence exist between the two countries that
    are so different in their essence.
  • Amazingly, interest in the Colorado River waters
    began at the final part of its natural course,
    creating doubt among upstream users and
    influencing the future use of the river with the
    creation of new water rights downstream.

5
 
  Mexicali Mexicali Tijuana
Tecate Data from Román, 2001
6
  • In the Southwestern U.S., intense population
    growth has caused a kind of uncontrolled water
    demand.
  • In 1940, the Imperial Valley had 59,740
    inhabitants, 11,000 more than Mexicali.
  • In the year 2000, Imperial Valley population
    increased to 142,361 inhabitants, with a growth
    rate, during 1990-2000, of 30.2 percent, compared
    to a global increase of 13.6 percent for the
    whole State of California.
  • Data from the U.S. Census Bureau State and County
    QuickFacts.

7
  • Agriculture Water Use and Efficiency
  • Imperial 202,500 ha 3,065 Mm3 1.4 billions
  • Water Productivity 0.45 dlls/m3
  • Water per Hectare 15,135 m3
  • Mexicali 207,935 ha 2,550 Mm3 425 millions
  • Water Productivity 0.16 dlls/m3
  • Water per hectare 12,263 m3
  • Ratio 2.71
  • Includes 177 Mm3 of contaminated water in San
    Luis, and 700 Mm3 of aquifer water.

8
Agriculture Water Efficiency Imperial/Mexicali
Efficiency on both sides is not the
best Imperial Valley - 60 percent Mexicali
Valley - 52 percent
9
  • Salton Sea
  • The presence of the Salton Sea (SS) is ancestral.
    The temporary deviation of Colorado River water
    to the SS was the beginning of its recent
    history. Today, the SS constitutes the biggest
    inland lake in the State of California.
  • 68 percent of the water that enters the SS comes
    from I.V. agriculture water drainage (IID), with
    high saline concentrations and high loads of
    organic matter. Boron and selenium
    concentrations, among others, are higher than the
    norm.

10
  • Salton Sea
  • Intense deterioration of environmental quality of
    the SS caused thousands of birds to die during
    the first four months of 1998 (17,000 birds of 70
    different species). The U.S. Department of
    Interior and other institutions prepared a
  • Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental
    Impact Report (DEIS/EIR) on the SS in
    California.

11
  • The Salton Sea
  • is a very important part of a region, inside of a
    larger, complex ecosystem that it is intimately
    linked to the Colorado River Delta and the upper
    Gulf of California.
  • The restoration of the SS should be linked to all
    those parts of the ecosystem and must be seen as
    a UNIT.

12
  • Santa Clara Sludge
  • The Wellton-Mohawk deviation channel to the Santa
    Clara Sludge was part of the solution to the
    Colorado River water salinity problem
    (1961-1977).
  • An annual average of 160 Mm3 of polluted water
    delivers 720,000 metric tons of salts in SCS.
  • In 1973, Minute 242 (IBWC) represented a
    convenient exit, framed in a sense of good
    neighborliness. Today, the perception of this
    agreement has changed. Again, both governments
    need to look for a new creative and good
    neighbor agreement.

13
  • All-American Canal
  • The AAC is the main conduit for delivering water
    and energy to Coachella and Imperial Counties,
    with nine small cities, 142,000 inhabitants, and
    500,000 acres of agricultural lands.
  • Over 38 km from its total longitude of 132 km,
    waters cross sand dunes with their high
    permeability which allows seepage, a very
    important water source for the Mexicali Valley
    aquifer.

14
  • All-American Canal
  • In 1988, IID and MWDLA signed an agreement for
    selling 99,716 acre-feet annually to US at 28.00
    per acre-feet for a period of 55 years.
  • The sold volume of water was determined based on
    probable estimates of savings by lining 38 km of
    the AAC.

15
  • Irrigation Modules
  • A new form of water and land management was
    created with the National Water Law in 1992 and
    the NWL Regulation in 1994. Watershed councils
    began to be formed at the national level starting
    in 1992. The objective was to create irrigation
    districts, with 5.8 million hectares to be
    administered by users.
  • CNA gives administration responsibility to
    users of irrigation districts because the
    districts were too expensive to manage.

16
  • Irrigation Modules
  • An irrigation module is legally constituted as a
    civil association of agricultural growers. They
    give their water and land rights to the manager
    of the association, who administers the available
    resources for their partners benefit. Today, the
    Mexicali Valley has 22 irrigation modules.
  • In Mexico, water rights are assigned directly to
    each producer.

17
  • Colorado River Surplus Water
  • For many years, California has been diverting its
    normal 4.4 maf apportionment. Arizona is
    approaching its full use and apportionment and
    Nevada was expected to reach it by 2000.
  • Adopting a new approach for the allotment of
    these surplus waters would seem reasonable unless
    the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation forgot Mexican
    users and the environment in the allotment. Both
    of them are also part of the lower basin of the
    Colorado River.

18
Water Demand vs. Population Growth Today,
with the exception of the environment, all
Colorado River water users know the volume they
have the right to use. Communication and
respect between users and government represent
the guarantee that water in the future will
benefit everyone, even the environment.
19
  • Water Culture
  • At the present time, the only viable solution is
    for all the water users of the Colorado River to
    use water rationally.
  • This solution can be achieved through an intense
    culturization of the entire societys water
    use.
  • We must learn new ways to use water and recycle
    in a universal way that all of us should respect
    and accept.

20
  • Decision makers should not think only in terms of
    exporting water from agricultural lands. They
    must think of searching for new ways for
    everyones rational water use in our binational
    society.
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