Water Resources Management at the Mexican Boundary with the USA

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Water Resources Management at the Mexican
Boundary with the USA

• Javier Aparicio
• Mexican Institute of Water Technology
• Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
• México

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Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua
Deals primarily with water related issues in
order to help reaching the sustainable
development for the country, by conducting
research and technological development (RD) in
collaboration with public and private
institutions, universities and other research
centers such as NGOs.
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• Four main research divisions
• Hydrology
• Water Quality
• Irrigation and drainage
• Hydraulics
• Professional development

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In the near future, it is expected that conflicts
between neighbour municipalities, counties and
even countries will be related to water.
To avoid that, it is necessary to create
transboundary water use policies in which all the
parts involved agree to make the efficient use
and proper long and short term planning.
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México/USA Boundary

• 3000 km
• 14 cities
• 10.6 million in 2000
• 55 US, 45 México
• 14 million in 2020

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Watersheds México/USA
1944 Treaty
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Colorado River

• 634,840 km2
• 7 USA States Colorado River compact
• 2 Mexican States

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Colorado River flows
Hoover Dam

• Nearly 100 of water is used for agriculture
  urban supply

Glen Canyon Dam

• Droughts are shared

1000 acre-ft1.233 hm3
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Droughts, Colorado River

• In case of extraordinary drought or a serious
  accident in the irrigation system in the USA
  which would prevent delivering the guaranteed
  volume, the assigned volumes to Mexico would be
  reduced in the same proportion as the consumption
  reduction in the USA.

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Colorado River Salinity

• Salinity not in the Treaty
• 1961 Increase in salinity above 2,500 ppm
• IBWC Negotiations Act 242 (1973)
• Bypass channel
• Salinity lt Imperial Dam 121 ppm higher at San
  Luis

Imperial dam
Imperial Valley
Morelos dam
San Luis Río Colorado
Mexicali Valley
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Colorado River Salinity
San Luis
Morelos
Imperial
Source CILA
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Delta Region

• One of the biggest desert estuaries in the world
• 780 000 ha
• Highly diversified collection of plants, birds
  and marine species

• Dry and dead system of small wetlands and salt
  marshes
• Highly salinized desert

• Floods, surplus, return flows
• 60 000 ha restoration
• Significant wetland ecosystem in SW USA and NW
  México in danger

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Delta Region
Near future

• Significant population increase
• Pressure over land, water and other resources
• Permanent flows vs. Interim Surplus Criteria
• Legal issues

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Actions

• Establishment of the Alto Golfo de California y
  Delta del Río Colorado Biosphere Reserve
• Wastewater treatment plants in Border Cities and
  recycling
• Efficient water use programs
• Legal framework modifications New National Water
  Law
• Ecological priority
• Incentives to water consumption reduction
• Program Border XXI
• Public participation
• Capacity building
• Interinstitutional cooperation
• Binational workgroups for RD

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Bravo/Grande River

• Boundary 2,001 km
• Total runoff 11,000 hm3/year
• Total storage capacity 23,000 hm3
• 1944 Treaty Fort Quitman to mouth

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Agricultural use, Bravo Basin
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Bravo/Grande River
USA
Gulf of México
1/2
1/2
Falcón Dam
La Amistad Dam
Bravo/Grande
Fort Quitman
1/2
1/2

• 74 hm3/yr at Juárez (1906)
• 431.7 hm3/yr in 5-yr cycles
• 1953-2002 26 periods
• Cycle 25 completed in 2001
• Deficit in cycle 26
• Droughts are not shared

Salado
Conchos
Gauged rivers
1/3 US 2/3 México
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Droughts, Bravo/Grande River

• In case of extraordinary drought or a serious
  accident in the Mexican hydraulic system which
  would prevent Mexico to deliver such volume, any
  undelivered volume at the end of the 5-year
  period would be distributed in the following
  period with water from the same tributaries.

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Water quality, Bravo/Grande
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Actions

• Wastewater treatment plants in Border Cities
• Efficient water use programs
• Binational workgroups for RD
• Río Bravo water distribution rule
• Irrigation modernization and technology
  improvement in Conchos River Basin

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Río Bravo water distribution rule

• Define Extraordinary drought
• Distribute US assignment among Mexican
  tributaries
• Propose to subject deliveries to US with the same
  deficit restrictions as Mexican irrigation
  assignments
• Consensus building on distribution rule among
  users

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Modernization and technology improvement, Conchos
Basin

• Channels and network lining
• Control structures and wells rehabilitation
• Low pressure, drip and sprinkler systems
• Land leveling
• Real-time irrigation forecast
• Efficiency 33 ? 55
• Recover 396 hm3/yr in 4 years
• 2002-2006, US 150 million
• NADBank Fund and Federal investment

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San Diego/Tijuana
San Diego Tijuana
Water import 90 95
Consumption, l/person/day 666 205
Density, persons/km2 717 4770
Population in 2010, millions 3.3 (60) 2.2 (40)
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Water quality, Tijuana

• 32 hm3 of treated residual water with organic
  contaminants to the Pacific Ocean
• Industrial residuals discharges 8 hm3/year.
• Volumes generated are higher than plant
  capacity serious pollution problems

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Transboundary aquifers

• Mexicali Recharge/ exploitation 150/ 102 hm3
  All-American channel lining?
• Juárez Valley Drawdowns gt 45 m quality problems

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Boundary with Guatemala

• Grijalva-Usumacinta and Suchiate
• Grijalva-Usumacinta
• 44,885 km2 in Guatemala, 83,213 km2 in México
  
• 1961 IBWC
• Treaty 1990, still not effective

Mapa
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Boundary with Belize

• Hondo River
• Binational Comission
• on Boundaries and
• Cooperation 1991
• No major water
• consumption nor extensive
• groundwater exploitation
• Water quality degradation

Hondo River
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Conclusions

• México and USA share a politically,
  sociologically and hydrologically complex and
  rapidly evolving boundary
• International agreements have been the result of
  long negotiations made in good will and with the
  benefits of both countries in mind examples by
  other Countries

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Conclusions

• Population growth and comprehensive water use
  careful joint water resources management in the
  boundaries
• Sustainable development binational plans,
  including Colorado Delta ecology
• Integrated international hydrometeorological
  information system along the Border
• Efficient water use programs
• Binational RD programs