Global Policy Forum

By Steve Taylor

Secretary of State Colin Powell says he wants to avoid economic sanctions or blocking the Colorado River in retaliation against Mexico's non-compliance of a water-sharing treaty. Powell made the comments in response to questions from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn on Tuesday at a Senate Budget Committee hearing in Washington, D.C.

Cornyn wanted to know why Mexico had reneged on an agreement to deliver 55,000 acre-feet of water on Jan. 30. He also wanted to know the status of water talks between the United States and Mexico taking place in San Diego. Powell's testimony coincided with new concerns from South Texas irrigation district managers over new guidelines from the North American Development Bank on how $40 million in grants would be allocated for water conservation projects.

"We are very disappointed that Mexico has been unable to meet its obligations under the 1944 treaty and there is such a backlog of 1.5 million acre-feet," said Powell. "We are pressing them very hard, trying to get another increment right away of 55,000 – trying to get back up to their obligation for the 300,000 for this growing season. We'll continue to press." Powell confirmed Mexico had only delivered 129,000 acre-feet of an interim agreement that called for 200,000 acre-feet by the end of January. The 55,000 acre-feet was supposed to have been transferred from Chihuahua to the Amistad and Falcon international dams.

Cornyn, R-Texas, said he was "particularly disturbed" by Mexico's failure to abide by the interim agreement, a deal that had offered "some hope" to South Texas farmers for the upcoming growing season. "I have to tell you that particularly folks in the agricultural business in South Texas have been devastated by Mexico's failure to live up to this (200,000 acre-feet) obligation," Cornyn said. "It's had a ripple effect in our economy. Over a billion dollars has been lost over the last 10 years due to the failure to abide by the treaty."

Cornyn said that "in their frustration" farmers had voiced several options the United States should consider, including sanctions against Mexican agricultural produce "grown by the very water that they feel should have been delivered under the treaty." Another possibility, Cornyn said, was the renegotiation of a 1944 treaty that requires the United States to deliver 1.5 million acre-feet of water to Mexico each year from the Colorado River. A third option cited by Cornyn was to "just terminate the treaty entirely, just to walk away from it."

Powell said he would "try to avoid" any or all of these remedies in favor of diplomatic negotiations such as those underway in San Diego. "Let us continue to pound away to see if we cannot get them to meet the commitments they've made for this growing season as a start toward resolving, ultimately, the 1.5 million acre-foot backlog," Powell said.

Under the treaty, Mexico is required to deliver an average of 350,000 acre-feet of water per year to the United States, mostly from the Rio Conchos Basin in Chihuahua. In return, the United States must deliver 1.5 million acre-feet of water per year to Mexico from the Colorado River. While the United States has complied with the treaty, Mexico, claiming extraordinary drought, has been fallen behind in its repayments since 1992. Mexico owes the United States more than 1.37 million acre-feet of water.

Gordon Hill, general manager of Bayview Irrigation District, has claimed Mexico has three million acre-feet of water available for release in Chihuahua reservoirs. Not so, said Mary Kelly, senior attorney and program director for U.S./Mexico Border Initiatives Environmental Defense. "Unfortunately, it is not accurate," Kelly said. "Based on International Boundary and Water Commission data there are only about 1,246 million cubic meters — which is less than one million acre-feet — in the reservoirs in Chihuahua, in terms of usable storage."

Hill said Tuesday that reports of Valley irrigation district managers being happy with new loan rules from NADBank were wide of the mark. The guidelines state that $40 million in Water Conservation Investment Fund monies will go to projects that help alleviate irrigation problems associated with drought conditions along the U.S.-Mexico border region.

The rules also state that applications must be consistent with the framework of agreements set out in IBWC Minute 308, an accord agreed by the United States and Mexico last June that updates a 1944 water-sharing treaty. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Monday that the guidelines would ensure 70 percent of the WCIF funds would go on South Texas projects.

"The guidelines say nothing of the sort; there is no guarantee we will get the money," said Hill. "In fact, irrigation district managers are pretty upset. We feel we are right behind the eight ball when compared to applications from municipalities. We got a raw deal." Sonia Kaniger, general manager of San Benito Irrigation District, agreed with Hill. She said the fact that NADBank would only give loans up to $4 million, and only fund 50 percent of any project, put her district at a big disadvantage.

"We have submitted an application for $15 million. We are desperate for money for a new pumping plant," Kaniger said. "How can we divide that bid into $4 million? I do not know how to split a pumping plant into four pieces."

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.