On Nov. 7, Mexican IBWC Secretary Manuel Morales, Mexican IBWC Commissioner Adriana Reséndez, U.S. IBWC Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner, and U.S. IBWC Secretary Sally Spener signed Minute 331, an agreement on Mexican water deliveries to Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley. (Photo courtesy IWBC)
A long-awaited water-sharing agreement between Mexico and the United States is getting a mixed reception. Signed Nov. 7 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico by U.S. and Mexican officials of the binational International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), the accord aims to ensure a steadier flow of water from Mexico to Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley. Mexico must deliver at least 350,000 acre feet of water annually to the United States under the terms of the 1944 Water Treaty, which governs joint use and management of the Rio Grande, Colorado and Tijuana Rivers. The treaty allows Mexico to pay off the total at the end of a five-year cycle and even roll it over into the next cycle if an “extraordinary drought” or water-infrastructure breakdown occurs. Over each cycle, Mexico’s obligation to share with the United States amounts to 1,750,000 acre feet. Periodic Mexican water-delivery shortfalls have... [Log in to read more]
