“USIBWC Update on the International Waters of the Rio Grande”

presented at

Texas Water Conservation Association

onJune 14, 2012

by

Carlos Peña, Principal Engineer OperationsInternational Boundary and Water Commission,

United States Section

IBWC Mission

Excellence through teamwork.

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

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

IBWC Minutes

Excellence through teamwork.

• Decisions of the Commission are recorded in the form of Minutes

• Minutes are binding agreements of the IBWC intended to implement treaty.

• They take effect once approved by the U.S. Department of State and Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry

IBWC Commissioners and Secretaries sign Min. 318

Field OfficesSan Diego Yuma Nogales Up. Rio Grande Presidio Amistad Falcon L. Rio Grande

Laredo

Present Rio Grande Reservoir Conditionshttp://www.ibwc.gov/wad/res_report.html

Excellence through teamwork.

Allocation of Rio Grande Waters

Convention of 1906 –

“Equitable Distribution of the Waters of the Rio Grande”

• El Paso-Juarez Valley to Fort Quitman

1944 Water Treaty –

“Utilization of Water of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of Rio Grande”

• Fort Quitman, Texas to Gulf of Mexico

• Distribution between Mexico and the U.S. of the waters originating in the Upper Rio Grande watershed.

• U.S. to deliver 60,000 acre-feet per year to Mexico at the headworks of the Acequia Madre Canal

• Proportional reduction in deliveries in case of extraordinary drought

• Project water stored in Elephant Butte and Caballo Dams – New Mexico

American Dam

United States

Mexico

American Dam

American Canal

Convention of 1906

Excellence through teamwork.

Convention of 1906

International Dam

Mexico’s Deliveries

US Deliveries

3 Primary Entities served with Project Water from Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs

• Elephant Butte Irrigation District

• El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1

• Mexico

Poor contingency planning in winter of 2011 led to a delivery timing conflict in 2012. Excellence through teamwork.

• US Irrigation Districts drought management strategy was to defer deliveries until Mid-May or early June.

• Officially informed Mexico of their plan on February 15, 2012.

• Mexico did not have well infrastructure in place to wait until Mid-May

• Compromise – EP#1 agreed to come on-line with Mexico on April 5th.

Historical Starts of Irrigation Season

• Initiate early contingency planning with all three irrigation entities (Fall of 2012)

• Need better understanding of how surface water in channel interacts with aquifer.

• Need better understanding of how groundwater pumping impacts channel conveyance efficiencies.

• Federal study - (USIBWC/Reclamation) with input from 3 irrigation entities to analyze surface/groundwater interactions of system and propose operational strategies to better manage precious resource.

Lesson’s Learned from 2012

1944 Water Treaty – Rio Grande

Excellence through teamwork.

• Mexico delivers water to the U.S., Ft. Quitman to Gulf

• U.S. receives 1/3 of the waters arriving in the Rio Grande from 6 Mexican tributaries

• Minimum annual average of 350 kaf in cycles of 5 yrs

• Treaty authorized construction of up to three storage dams on Rio Grande; only 2 were built

Conchos River

Rio Grande

MEXICAN TREATY TRIBUTARIES

SAN GABRIEL

AMISTAD DAM

FALCON DAM

SAN MIGUEL

LA FRAGUA

Salado

Conchos

Río San Pedro

Río

Flo

rido

San Diego

San Rodrigo

Río Conchos

Río Chuviscar

Escondido

CHIHUAHUA

Fort Quitman

Arroyo Las Vacas

Río

San

Jua

n

Río Sabinas

Río Pesquería

Río Santa Catarina

Río

Can

dela

E. Ojinaga

E. San Antonio

E. Las Tortillas

Presidio

Laredo

Eagle Pass

1944 WATER TREATY1988-2012 5-year cycle deliveries by

Mexico

Objective: Develop comprehensive Rio Grande basin model to support treaty criteria. RiverWare is a very flexible tool to support daily operations, mid-term forecasting, and long-range planning.

USIBWC hired RiverWare subject matter expert.• Presently developing reservoir

flood operation models.• Develop water accounting

models in 2012.

Combine model development with Mexico’s RiverWare models (in development) for comprehensive watershed model

RiverWare Modeling

Questions?

Carlos Peña, Principal Engineer OperationsInternational Boundary and Water Commission,

United States Section

Excellence through teamwork.