A binational approach to the water management in the Lower Colorado River Basin
Date
1996-12
Authors
Bernal-Rodriguez, Francisco, author
Zala-Flores, Nicolás, author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
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Journal ISSN
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Abstract
The Mexico-United States border is a zone of shared problems for both countries. The Colorado River system stands out among their common rivers, its usefulness benefiting many people, especially if one considers its location in a desert land, the intense competition for the river water has expounded the necessity to come to agreements between both countries, started since 1944. The Colorado river system is the most important in the United States southwest; supplies water for more than 20 million users and for large extensions of agricultural land. Besides, it is a fundamental water source for Northern Mexico, especially for the irrigation of agriculture lands in the Mexicali Valley. Water is a resource of a very high economical value in the region, because of the growing and large human population of the region, the importance of agricultural crops, and in particular, to the fact that the southern part of the basin is a desert. Inasmuch as there is an intense competition for the river water, although highly controlled, the system's management is of great interest for United States as well as for Mexico, for that reason, it corresponds to both of them. All these factors make the Colorado River management an important subject that influences the neighborhood relationship between Mexico and United States. In 1944, both countries signed a treaty on the water allotment of the three river systems shared: the Colorado, Tijuana and Bravo. According to this document, Mexico obtained the right to receive an annual delivery of 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water. The construction of several dams in the Colorado River basin in the United States has had great impact on the quantity and quality of the water going to Mexico. During the last three decades, the matters related to the salinity of this water have demanded a permanent attention.
Description
Presented at Competing interests in water resources - searching for consensus: proceedings from the USCID water management conference held on December 5-7, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada.