Ridenbaugh Press/Water Rights

The United States and Mexico signed Minute 319 to the 1944 Mexican
Water Treaty related to the use of the Colorado River on November 20 in San Diego, California. The Minute is a five-year cooperative agreement between Mexico and the United States (on behalf of the seven Colorado River Basin States – including Arizona) that will help ensure that the Colorado River system is able to continue to meet the needs of stakeholders that rely on its flows.

Minute 319 provides a framework for: long-term planning and conservation activities; protection of water levels in Lake Mead to reduce the potential for water shortage; and potential development of additional sources of water from joint United States-Mexico water development projects.

This agreement benefits the State of Arizona through carrying forward provisions of Minute 318, approved in December 2010, allowing for the storage of Mexico’s water in Lake Mead, thus providing additional protection against shortage for US water users.

A Memorandum of Agreement among the United States, the seven Basin States (including Arizona) and water agencies in the United States was also signed today in conjunction with Minute 319.

This MOA provides Arizona water users additional certainty regarding the implementation of Minute 319 and further cements the cooperative nature of the management of the Colorado River among the US parties.

From the Wikipedia entry on the management of the treaty:

The International Boundary and Water Commission (Spanish: Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas) is an international body created in 1889 by the United States and Mexico to administer the many boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements between the two nations.

The organization was created as the International Boundary Commission by the Convention of 1889, and given its present name under the 1944 Treaty. Under these agreements, the IBWC has a U.S. section and a Mexican section, headquartered in the adjoining cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The U.S. section is administered by the Department of State; the Mexican part by the Secretariat of Foreign Relations. Some of the rights and obligations administered by the IBWC include:

distribution between the two countries of the waters of the Rio Grande and of the Colorado River;

regulation and conservation of the waters of the Rio Grande for their use by the two countries by joint construction, operation and maintenance of international storage dams and reservoirs and plants for generating hydroelectric energy at the dams;

protection of lands along the river from floods by levee and floodway projects;

solution of border sanitation and other border water quality problems;

preservation of the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundary;

demarcation of the land boundary.

The U.S. and Mexican commissioners meet at least weekly, alternating the place of meetings and are in almost daily contact with one another. Each section maintains its own engineering staff, a secretary and such legal advisers and other assistants as it deems necessary.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Mexican Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada on December 20 announced completion of an agreement, known as ‘Minute 318,’ to adjust water deliveries on the Colorado River to areas damaged by a devastating earthquake on April 4.

Following their meeting in Mexico City, the Secretaries also announced a commitment by the two governments to initiate, in January 2011, high-priority discussions on a comprehensive long-term agreement between the U.S. and Mexico on the management of the Colorado River.
“Through this water agreement, the U.S., Mexico, and the seven Colorado River Basin states are bringing resources together for our mutual benefit and for the benefit of our neighbors whose irrigation systems and livelihoods have been damaged by the Easter Sunday earthquake,” said Salazar, who is in Mexico City to discuss water, conservation, and natural resource issues with President Calderon and Mexican government officials. “Minute 318 is a remarkable achievement from a humanitarian perspective, but it also lays important groundwork for a much-needed comprehensive water agreement with Mexico on how we manage the Colorado River.”

“Water users and stakeholders up and down the Colorado River have a strong interest in a comprehensive water agreement that would enhance reliability, certainty, and efficiency of water deliveries,” said Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor, who coordinated with the seven Colorado River Basin States and the International Boundary and Water Commission to reach the Minute 318 agreement. “The good faith negotiations that resulted in Minute 318 will help pave the way toward the comprehensive agreement for Colorado River management that is so needed on both sides of the border.”

Secretary Salazar and Secretary Elvira commended the work by the U.S. and Mexican Commissioners of the International Boundary and Water Commission, Edward Drusina and Roberto Salmon, who led their respective nation’s negotiation teams for Minute 318.

Under Minute 318, Mexico will be able to temporarily defer delivery of a portion of its annual Colorado River water allotment while repairs are made to the irrigation system in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California as a result of an April 4, 2010 earthquake. This agreement is founded on the 1944 Water Treaty between the U.S. and Mexico.

A new initiative to promote cooperation between the United States and Mexico on Colorado River management will be discussed at the next public meeting of the Colorado River Citizens’ Forum (CRCF). The meeting will take place November 18, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. (PST)/5:00 – 7:00 p.m. (MST) at the Women’s Improvement Club of Calexico, 320 Heber Avenue, Calexico, California.

The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) established the CRCF in 2003 to facilitate the exchange of information between the USIBWC and members of the public about Commission activities in Yuma County, Arizona and Imperial County, California.
Earlier this year, the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, established a Binational Core Group to facilitate U.S.-Mexico cooperation on Colorado River issues.   The Core Group includes representatives from the federal government, states, and non-governmental organizations. The objective of the joint cooperative process is to explore water conservation, shortage management, augmentation, and environmental issues with potential binational benefits in the areas of environmental, agricultural, and urban water use. USIBWC Public Affairs Officer Sally Spener will discuss the activities this group has undertaken.

The CRCF will also learn more about water management in Mexico from Engineer Jorge Soto of Mexico’s National Water Commission (Conagua). Engineer Soto will discuss the water conveyance and delivery system in Irrigation District 014 in the Mexicali Valley.   The district has over 200,000 hectares under irrigation. The region irrigates with Mexico’s allotment of Colorado River water and also relies on groundwater pumped from over 700 wells.

In other business, Gilbert Anaya, GIS Coordinator for the USIBWC, will present a briefing about the Morelos Diversion Dam sediment removal project. He will discuss the planning process and steps necessary to restore the operational capacity of the dam, located on the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona-Los Algodones, Baja California. The USIBWC proposes to remove sediment build-up around the spillway that has caused loss of dam function and capacity in this reach. An update on the permitting process and habitat impacts will also be discussed.

The CRCF will also hear updates on two ongoing projects – the Drop 2 storage reservoir  and the lining of the All-American Canal. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in October for Drop 2. The reservoir, with a capacity of 8,000 acre-feet, is designed to store flows that are not currently captured in the lower Colorado River system. The All-American Canal project is currently under construction; the lining project is intended to conserve water by reducing seepage.

A new initiative to promote cooperation between the United States and Mexico on Colorado River management will be discussed at the next public meeting of the Colorado River Citizens’ Forum.

The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission established the CRCF in 2003 to facilitate the exchange of information between the USIBWC and members of the public about Commission activities in Yuma County, Arizona and Imperial County, California.

Earlier this year, the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, established a Binational Core Group to facilitate U.S.-Mexico cooperation on Colorado River issues. The Core Group includes representatives from the federal government, states, and non-governmental organizations. The objective of the joint cooperative process is to explore water conservation, shortage management, augmentation, and environmental issues with potential binational benefits in the areas of environmental, agricultural, and urban water use. USIBWC Public Affairs Officer Sally Spener will discuss the activities this group has undertaken.

The CRCF will also learn more about water management in Mexico from Engineer Jorge Soto of Mexico’s National Water Commission. Engineer Soto will discuss the water conveyance and delivery system in Irrigation District 014 in the Mexicali Valley. The district has over 200,000 hectares under irrigation. The region irrigates with Mexico’s allotment of Colorado River water and also relies on groundwater pumped from over 700 wells.

United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission November 5; For more information: Sally Spener 915-832-4175 sallyspener@ibwc.gov

In accordance with the August 13, 2007 Joint Statement of the United States and Mexico related to the Colorado River, a Binational Core Group has been created to address joint cooperative actions for the use of Colorado River waters in both countries. The group was convened March 11 in Phoenix, Arizona by the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico.
The objective of the joint cooperative process is to establish, under the auspices of the Commission, an international group of representatives of federal, state, and expert nongovernment organization stakeholders from the United States and Mexico to explore, identify, and ultimately implement water conservation, shortage management, augmentation and environmental initiatives with binational benefits in the areas of environmental, agricultural and urban water use. All joint cooperative projects and measures must be consistent with the 1944 Water Treaty, which allots a portion of the waters of the Colorado River to Mexico.
The Binational Core Group established four work groups to pursue cooperative actions in four broad areas: 1) conservation, 2) new water sources, 3) environmental issues, and 4) system operations.
The August 2007 Joint Statement expressed the interest of authorities from both countries in reinforcing bilateral cooperation regarding issues related to the lower portion of the Colorado River through a process coordinated by the International Boundary and Water Commission. Formation of the Binational Core Group is an important step in that process.
The International Boundary and Water Commission is a treaty-based bilateral organization responsible for applying the boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico and settling differences that arise in their application.
Source: International Boundary and Water Commission, United States Section Thursday March 13 Contact:?Sally Spener?915-832-4175 http://www.ibwc.state.gov/Files/PressRelease_031308.pdf

The TCEQ Watermaster announced October 11 the receipt of more than 224,000 acre feet of water from Mexico at the Amistad reservoir near Del Rio, Texas. This milestone marks the first time since 1992 that Mexico has been able to close a water accounting cycle without a water debt to the U.S.
“I am pleased that the government of Mexico is making such a strong effort to meet its obligations,” says TCEQ Chairman Buddy Garcia. “The efforts of the watermaster, the International Boundary and Water Commission, Mexican government officials, the U.S. Secretary of State, and Governor Rick Perry have paid off to assure certainty of the area’s future water supplies.”
Under a treaty signed by both countries in 1944, Mexico is obligated to transfer a minimum of 350,000 acre-feet per year on average to the U.S., except in periods of extraordinary drought. The treaty stipulates water cycles that begin when both Amistad and Falcon reservoirs are full or at five-year intervals whichever comes first.
This transfer closes cycle 27, increasing U.S. reserves by 6.8 percent. During the five-year cycle, from Oct. 2002-Sept. 2007, Mexico has delivered 1,750,000 acre-feet of water to the U.S. which is the treaty minimum requirement.
An acre-foot of water is the amount of water necessary to cover one acre to a depth of one foot. It is the equivalent of 325,851 gallons of water. This is roughly the amount of water used yearly by an American household of four. The 224,639 acre-feet also represent the average annual water utilization by municipalities drawing water from the Rio Grande from Del Rio to Brownsville, or roughly two months of peak irrigation demand.
The current status of the basin, other water allocations, and the additional water received, will allow the U.S. to maintain irrigation water demands in the middle and lower Rio Grande going into 2008.
Contact:?Terry Clawson ?Phone: 512-239-0046 ?Pager: 512-875-9213 Transfers 224,639 Acre-Feet of Water to U.S. Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Annual deliveries completed. Mexico has completed Rio Grande water deliveries to the United States in accordance with the 1944 Water Treaty, fulfilling its obligations for the 2002-2007 water delivery cycle. Under the terms of the treaty, Mexico is to deliver water to the United States from six Rio Grande tributaries. The treaty specifies a minimum delivery of 1.75 million acre-feet during the course of a five-year water delivery cycle. Mexico completed the minimum required deliveries for 2002-2007 at the end of the cycle on September 30, 2007.
The previous two five-year cycles ended in deficit. In 2005, Mexico completed paying its water debt from those cycles.
“These water deliveries mean that users in the United States have the water they are entitled to under the treaty,” said Carlos Marin, U.S. Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). “It’s good news that we are starting a new cycle without a deficit.”
The IBWC is responsible for applying the boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico and settling differences related to the treaties. The IBWC determines the national ownership of waters of the Rio Grande and operates two international storage reservoirs on the river – Falcon and Amistad. The waters delivered by Mexico are stored in the international reservoirs for release to downstream municipal and agricultural users. Once IBWC determines national ownership, Texas will allocate U.S. water to its authorized water right holders.
Friday October 12, 2007?Mexico Delivers Water to the United States to Fulfill Treaty Obligations Source: The International Boundary and Water Commission. Contact:?Sally Spener?915-832-4175?sallyspener@ibwc.state.gov

.S.-Mexico Agreement on Lower Colorado
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced August 13 that the Government of Mexico and the Government of the United States have renewed their commitment to cooperate and collaborate on issues related to the Colorado River. The announcement follows a recent meeting between Secretary Kempthorne and Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan of Mexico.
The Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, is responsible for the domestic management of the Colorado River, the waters of which are shared by seven U.S. basin states and Mexico. Mexico’s Colorado River allocation is governed by the 1944 Treaty Relating to the Utilization of the Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, which is administered by the International Boundary and Water Commission.
The U.S. and Mexican authorities have agreed that cooperative, innovative and holistic measures should be considered to ensure that the Colorado River is able to continue to meet environmental, agricultural and urban demands of both nations. Mexican authorities stressed the importance of ensuring that the needs of all stakeholders in the lower portion of the Colorado River are understood and considered by leaders of both nations.
The U.S. authorities acknowledged the growing national and international focus on the Colorado River as a result of the ongoing historic drought in the basin. The U.S. authorities also noted recent innovative agreements among the seven U.S. states that rely on the Colorado River.
Among the issues expected to be addressed are: Continued needs of both nations for water for urban, agricultural and environmental purposes, the study of the hydrological system and potential impacts of climate change, including the effects of the ongoing historic Colorado River drought; environmental priorities, including Colorado River Delta habitat protection and enhancement; opportunities for water conservation, storage and supply augmentation, such as seawater desalination and reuse; strategies aimed to ease variations in the Colorado River system; and potential opportunities for more efficient Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico.
Joan Moody (202) 208-6416?(en Español) Isabel Benemelis (202) 208-7975 US Department of the Interior http://www.doi.gov/news/07_News_Releases/070813_statement.html