International Boundary and Water Commission

United States and Mexico

Presentation to USGS Study TourApril 18, 2007El Paso, TX

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER

Land Boundary – 674 miles Colorado River – 24 miles Rio Grande – 1,254 miles Over 12 million residents

Tijuana River Basin

Colorado River Basin

Rio Grande Basin

INTERNATIONAL RIVER BASINS

PacificOcean Gulf of

Mexico

MISSION OF THE COMMISSION

The International Boundary and Water Commission is responsible for applying the boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico and settling differences that arise in their application.

STRUCTURE PER 1944 TREATY

INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION

(IBWC)

MEXICAN

SECTION

•Mexican Commissioner

•Secretary

•Two Principal

Engineers

•Legal Adviser

US

SECTION

•US Commissioner

•Secretary

•Two Principal

Engineers

•Legal Adviser

I B W C O F F I C E S O N T H E B O R D E R

IBWC STRUCTURE

Each Commissioner is appointed by his respective president

When the two Sections meet as a Commission, they have the status of an International Organization

Each Section employs its own staff IBWC staff operate projects, including joint

operation of dams

IBWC STRUCTURE

Decisions of the Commission shall be recorded in the form of Minutes

Minutes are subject to approval by the Governments (State, SRE) and are binding

131 Minutes entered into since treaty ratification

IBWC STRUCTURE

Joint Reports or Joint Memoranda of the Principal Engineers include technical recommendations to the Commissioners

Commissioners, Principal Engineers, Secretaries, and Legal Advisers are diplomatic officers

Significant day-to-day contact between the two Sections

CONVENTION OF 1906

Distribution between Mexico and the U.S. of the waters of the Rio Grande in the El Paso-Juarez region

U.S. to deliver 60,000 acre-feet per year Proportional reduction in deliveries in case

of extraordinary drought Water stored in Elephant Butte Dam, NM

American Dam (El Paso-Juarez)

OTHER BOUNDARY TREATIES

Convention of 1933/Rio Grande Rectification Project – Stabilize the international boundary in the El Paso-Juarez Valley

Chamizal Convention (1963) – Relocate the Rio Grande in a new channel in El Paso-Juarez

PROYECTO DE RECTIFICACION EN EL VALLE DE JUAREZPROYECTO DE RECTIFICACION EN EL VALLE DE JUAREZ

PROYECTO DE RECTIFICACION EN EL CHAMIZAL

RIO GRANDE RECTIFICATION PROJECT IN THE EL PASO-JUAREZ VALLEY

RIVER BED AND RECTIFIED CHANNEL

OTHER BOUNDARY TREATIES

Treaty of 1970 – Maintain the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundaryBoundary is middle of the channel of greatest

average widthStructures crossing the rivers may not deflect

or obstruct river flows

1944 WATER TREATY

Established current structure of the Commission.

Expanded Commission role in boundary water issues.

Provided general authority to conduct studies and investigations, construct dams, address sanitation problems.

1944 WATER TREATYColorado River

U.S. to deliver to Mexico a volume of 1.5 million acre-feet per year

When there are surplus waters, U.S. to deliver to Mexico a total volume of up to 1.7 million acre-feet per year

M O R E L O S D A M

1944 WATER TREATY(Rio Grande, Ft. Quitman to the Gulf)

Mexico to deliver minimum annual average of 350,000 acre-feet to the United States Water delivered to the Rio Grande from six Mexican

tributaries U.S. receives 1/3 of the flow arriving in the Rio

Grande from the six Mexican tributaries

Each county allotted 50% of flows from the unmeasured tributaries

CURRENT PROJECTS

UPPER RIO GRANDE PROJECTS Canalization Project – USIBWC water delivery and

flood control project located in Southern New Mexico and West Texas

American Dam – Diverts Rio Grande water into U.S. irrigation canal at El Paso

International Dam – Diverts Rio Grande water into Mexican irrigation canal/Acequia Madre at Cd. Juarez

Canalization Project, El Paso

UPPER RIO GRANDE PROJECTS

Rectification Project – Stabilizes the boundary and provides flood control in the El Paso-Juarez Valley

Chamizal Project – Stabilizes the international boundary thru El Paso-Cd. Juarez by means of a concrete channel Chamizal Project maintenance

RIO GRANDE INTERNATIONAL STORAGE RESERVOIRS

Amistad DamTotal Capacity, including flood storage –

6025 million cubic meters

Falcon DamTotal Capacity, including flood storage - 3897

million cubic meters

Both generate hydroelectric power

AMISTAD DAM

WATER ACCOUNTING

More than 50 gaging stations in the Rio Grande basin in the United States and Mexico

11 gaging stations on the Colorado River Data reviewed weekly by the U.S. and Mexican

Sections Determination of the national ownership of

waters of the Rio Grande Publication of flow data, rainfall, reservoir

storage, evaporation, and water quality data in annual water bulletins

WATER ACCOUNTING

Rio Grande gaging station at Presidio-Ojinaga

Telemetry system at North Floodway, Lower Rio Grande

LOWER RIO GRANDEFLOOD CONTROL PROJECT 340 miles of levee Anzalduas Diversion Dam Retamal Diversion Dam Floodways Flood protection for hundreds of

thousands of people in the U.S. and Mexico

PRESA DERIVADORA ANZALDUAS

1966 Flood at

Brownsville-Matamoros

Anzalduas Diversion Dam

INTERNATIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS

San Diego, CaliforniaTreats wastewater from Tijuana, BC

Nogales, AZTreats wastewater from both countries

Nuevo Laredo, TamaulipasTreats wastewater from Nuevo Laredo,

Tamps.

SOUTH BAY INTERNATIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

WATER QUALITY MONITORING

3 Rio Grande binational toxic substances studies

Binational toxic substances study of the New and Colorado Rivers

Texas Clean Rivers Program for the Rio Grande

GROUNDWATER

General authority to conduct groundwater studies granted by Congress in 1935

General authority under Article 24 of the 1944 Water Treaty

GROUNDWATER Minute 242 (1973)

To address salinity of Colorado River deliveries to Mexico

Pending the conclusion of a comprehensive agreement on groundwater in the border areas, each country shall limit pumping of groundwaters within its territory within 8 km of the Arizona-Sonora boundary

Consultation prior to undertaking substantial modification or new development of surface or ground water resources that might adversely affect the other country

GROUNDWATER Hueco Bolson – El Paso-Juarez Aquifer

Binational Technical Group establishedReport published in 1998Binational Ground-Water Data Base validated

by both governments Upper Santa Cruz River Transboundary

Aquifer (AZ-Son.)Data exchanged (1997-1998)

Nogales Wash water qualityBinational Nogales Wash United States /

Mexico Groundwater Monitoring Program – Final Report (2001)

GROUNDWATER

Mexican ManagementMostly centralized in the National Water

Commission, a federal agency U.S. Management

State responsibilityDecentralized in the four U.S. border states

TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFER ASSESSMENT BILL Passed by U.S. Congress in 2006 (Public

Law 109-448) Purpose is to characterize, map, and

model groundwater resources in U.S.-Mexico border region

Activities to encompass field studies, development of GIS database, flow models, data exchange

Identifies priority aquifers for assessment based on technical and political criteria

TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFER ASSESSMENT BILL

Lead federal agency is U.S. Geological Survey

Requires consultation with U.S. border states and authorizes grants to state water resource research institutes

Authorizes $50 million over ten years, including some funding to Mexico

International Boundary and Water Commission

United States and Mexico

U.S. Section www.ibwc.state.gov (915) 832-4100