{ "id": "R43312", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43312", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 459297, "date": "2017-03-02", "retrieved": "2017-03-09T17:48:59.141284", "title": "U.S.-Mexican Water Sharing: Background and Recent Developments", "summary": "The United States and Mexico share the waters of the Colorado River and Rio Grande pursuant to binational agreements. Increasing water demands and reduced supplies deriving from drought and air temperatures increase the challenges and significance of reliable water sharing. \nThe International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) is charged with addressing issues that arise during application of binational water treaties. The IBWC is a binational entity with a U.S. Section that operates under foreign policy guidance from the U.S. Department of State. Under the binational 1944 Water Treaty, disputes and new developments can be resolved through agreed-upon interpretations of the treaty, called minutes.\nMexican-U.S. relations generally grew closer during the George W. Bush and Obama Administrations. Water sharing was addressed through IBWC technical meetings and bilateral talks between government officials; these meetings and talks were the primary forum for addressing treaty compliance and frustrations of water users in Texas with Mexico\u2019s water delivery regime. Treaty minutes were used to enhance bilateral cooperation and provide flexibility in how treaty compliance was accomplished. It remains uncertain what principles will guide and what mechanisms will be used during the Trump Administration to address water conflicts and what role enhanced cooperation (e.g., measures similar to recent binational efforts in the Colorado River basin) may play in U.S.-Mexican water sharing. \nColorado River. The Colorado River flows through seven U.S. states before reaching Mexico; 97% of its basin is in the United States. Under the 1944 Water Treaty, the United States is required to provide Mexico with 1.5 million acre-feet (AF) of Colorado River water annually. This figure represents about 10% of the river\u2019s average flow. \nMinute 319 is a set of binational cooperative measures in the Colorado River basin agreed upon in 2012. It provides for more cooperative basin water management, including environmental flows to restore riverine habitat. Minute 319 also provides for Mexico to share in cutbacks during shortage conditions in the basin; such cutbacks are not required under the 1944 Water Treaty. Under Minute 319, Mexico can delay its water deliveries from the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty and store its delayed deliveries in Lake Mead, thereby increasing the lake\u2019s elevation. Lake Mead elevation is the baseline used for determining shortage conditions and associated water delivery cutbacks for U.S. lower basin states. Minute 319 is to remain in force through December 31, 2017. It could be extended or replaced with a new minute, or it could be allowed to expire. Negotiations on a new minute were under way at the end of the Obama Administration. For the Colorado River basin, issues before Congress may be largely related to oversight of Minute 319 implementation, as well as developments in negotiations related to the future of Minute 319 or its successor (if any). \nRio Grande. The Rio Grande is governed by two separate agreements. Deliveries to Mexico in the northwestern portion of the shared basin (near El Paso/Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez) occur under a 1906 convention, whereas deliveries for the southeastern portion (which is below Fort Quitman, TX) are laid out in the 1944 Water Treaty. Some Members of Congress have raised concerns about the adequacy of Mexico\u2019s water deliveries in the Rio Grande basin and the resulting economic impacts, especially in Texas border counties. During the 115th Congress, Members of Congress and other Texas stakeholders may continue their efforts to promote the adoption of mechanisms to achieve a Mexican water-delivery regime that provides more reliability and benefit for Texas.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43312", "sha1": "b6463811aa3239d9a4d8ada6548234811ccd8c01", "filename": "files/20170302_R43312_b6463811aa3239d9a4d8ada6548234811ccd8c01.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43312", "sha1": "54f1099a397cd8e1438847b7f1df2c6503fb337d", "filename": "files/20170302_R43312_54f1099a397cd8e1438847b7f1df2c6503fb337d.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4787, "name": "State Department & International Organizations" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4813, "name": "International Energy & Natural Resource Issues" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4847, "name": "Latin America, Caribbean, & Canada" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4909, "name": "Water Resource Management" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4929, "name": "Water Quality" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 447205, "date": "2015-11-10", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:58:24.615288", "title": "U.S.-Mexico Water Sharing: Background and Recent Developments", "summary": "The United States and Mexico share the Colorado River and Rio Grande pursuant to binational agreements. Increasing water demands and reduced supplies deriving from drought and high heat increase the challenges and significance of treaty compliance. The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), a binational entity with a U.S. Section that operates under the foreign policy guidance from the U.S. Department of State, is charged with addressing issues that arise during application of these treaties.\nColorado River. The Colorado River flows through seven U.S. states before reaching Mexico; 97% of the basin is in the United States. A 1944 Water Treaty requires that the United States annually provide Mexico with 1.5 million acre-feet (AF) of Colorado River water, which represents about 10% of the river\u2019s average flow. Binational disputes have arisen over water quantity, quality, and conservation. Under the Treaty, disputes can be resolved through amendments, called \u201cminutes.\u201d Minute 242 from 1973 requires that salinity of Colorado River water deliveries not exceed a specified limit. Minute 319 from 2012 provides for a bilateral basin water management, storage, and environmental enhancement effort; the minute is to be enforced through 2017 with the possibility of an extension.\nRio Grande. The Rio Grande is governed by two separate agreements. Deliveries to Mexico in the northwestern portion of the shared basin (near El Paso/Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez) occur under a 1906 Convention, while deliveries for the southeastern portion (which is below Fort Quitman, Texas) are laid out in the 1944 Water Treaty. The 1906 Convention requires an annual delivery to Mexico of 60,000 AF, which can be proportionally reduced based on drought conditions. The United States is not required to make up for reductions. From 1939 to 2013, deliveries to Mexico were reduced in roughly 30% of the years, including significant reductions in each year since 2012. \nUnder the 1944 Water Treaty, Mexico has rights to two-thirds of the flows of six Mexican Rio Grande tributaries. The one-third delivered to the United States must average at least 350,000 AF per year, measured in five-year cycles. A five-year cycle ended in October 2015, with Mexico likely ending behind on deliveries. Mexico\u2019s deliveries fell behind early in that cycle. It is anticipated that the final accounting (which may be available in early 2016) may indicate that Mexico met its deliveries in the cycle\u2019s fourth year and was close to meeting the delivery target in the fifth year. Roughly 100,000 AF of the water delivered in the fifth year came from sources not formally covered by the 1944 Water Treaty. \nLegislative and Diplomatic Responses. Some Members of Congress have expressed concerns about the adequacy of Mexico\u2019s 1944 Water Treaty compliance, U.S. efforts to hold Mexico to its treaty obligations, and the resulting economic impacts, especially in Texas border counties. On December 16, 2014, P.L. 113-235, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, became law, and a provision in this omnibus legislation required the U.S. Section of the IBWC to report to the Committees on Appropriations on various water delivery and accounting issues within 45 days of enactment. In 2014 and 2015, the U.S. Department of State submitted reports to Congress on the status of Mexico\u2019s deliveries, including a status update in September 2015. Also in 2015, the U.S. Department of State raised water issues in meetings with Mexican officials and the IBWC organized a July 2015 meeting in Texas with representatives from the state of Texas and Mexico\u2019s national water agency. The Texas meeting\u2019s discussion covered basin water modeling efforts and various means to improve the predictability and compliance of Mexico\u2019s water deliveries.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43312", "sha1": "10d15562532f58b8f41354fecde07299b3f5d3be", "filename": "files/20151110_R43312_10d15562532f58b8f41354fecde07299b3f5d3be.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43312", "sha1": "ff504e4a316556f1bfe8a7fe67fdd2ddd0eeb79a", "filename": "files/20151110_R43312_ff504e4a316556f1bfe8a7fe67fdd2ddd0eeb79a.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2911, "name": "North America: Canada and Mexico" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 318, "name": "Water Resources Management and Development" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc503397/", "id": "R43312_2015Jan23", "date": "2015-01-23", "retrieved": "2015-04-30T17:37:21", "title": "U.S.-Mexico Water Sharing: Background and Recent Developments", "summary": "This report is a primer on U.S. and Mexican water-sharing topics. It focuses on surface water quantity sharing and recent developments, including drought conditions. Due to Mexico's recent below-target deliveries of Rio Grande water to the United States, particular attention is given to the status, underlying causes, and responses to the Rio Grande water delivery shortfalls. This report describes: legal obligations and processes under the 1944 Water Treaty; drought conditions from 2010 to 2013; water sharing and developments in the Colorado River Basin; water sharing in the Rio Grande Basin and Mexico's water delivery shortfalls and stakeholder, diplomatic, and legislative responses to the rate of Mexico's Rio Grande water deliveries.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150123_R43312_c9928c099d9f15db74d15843edea82835075de4c.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150123_R43312_c9928c099d9f15db74d15843edea82835075de4c.html", "source": "pymupdf" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Mexico", "name": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Mexico" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- Mexico -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- Mexico -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Water resources", "name": "Water resources" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc267861/", "id": "R43312_2013Nov19", "date": "2013-11-19", "retrieved": "2013-12-03T12:16:12", "title": "U.S.-Mexico Water Sharing: Background and Recent Developments", "summary": "This report is a primer on U.S. and Mexican water-sharing topics. It focuses on surface water quantity sharing and recent developments, including drought conditions. Due to Mexico's recent below-target deliveries of Rio Grande water to the United States, particular attention is given to the status, underlying causes, and responses to the Rio Grande water debt. This report describes: legal obligations and processes under the 1944 Water Treaty; drought conditions from 2010 to 2013; water sharing and developments in the Colorado River Basin; water sharing in the Rio Grande Basin and Mexico's water debt; and stakeholder, diplomatic, and legislative responses to Mexico's Rio Grande water debt.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20131119_R43312_129be62f6c5f72d864bcdfba1d4e3758fe90c278.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20131119_R43312_129be62f6c5f72d864bcdfba1d4e3758fe90c278.html", "source": "pymupdf" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Mexico", "name": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Mexico" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Mexico", "name": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Mexico" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Water resources", "name": "Water resources" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Latin American Affairs" ] }