Compass World: Mexico's Grande Crisis
The Rio Grande forms a natural border between the United States and Mexico and is a major water source for residents of both countries. In 1944, the U.S. and Mexico signed a treaty that regulates the distribution of the river’s water. (Wikimedia Commons)
The United States and Mexico agreed last Thursday to transfer 130 million cubic meters of water held in the Amistad and Falcon reservoirs from Mexican to U.S. ownership. Amid violent protests from Mexican farmers about water shortages, Mexico has struggled to pay back its five-year accumulation of water debt. Government officials announced the deal just two days before the October 24 deadline.
In addition to water transfer plans, the countries agreed to develop water management alternatives to ensure the reliability of water deliveries. The U.S. will also help Mexico manage municipal water supplies along the Rio Grande.
The October agreement traces back to two treaties that dictate the distribution of river water along the U.S.-Mexico border. The 1906 Boundary Convention governs the section of the Rio Grande above Fort Quitman, Texas, and it requires that the U.S. annually deliver 74 million cubic meters of water to Mexico. During drought years, the U.S. can reduce the volume of water delivered without paying the deficit later. Under the 1944 treaty on the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, Mexico has to deliver 430 million cubic meters of water to the U.S. annually, while the U.S. gives up 1.85 billion cubic meters of water.
The water deliveries under the 1944 treaty are done in five-year cycles, which allows room for flexibility. But Mexico routinely delays fulfilling its obligations, which means deficits accumulate. The problem stems from relying too much on unpredictable storms or hurricanes in order to pay, as the storms fill up reservoirs. This past July, Hurricane Hanna did not travel inland enough to replenish the water supply in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Though Mexico has satisfied the U.S. for now, last week’s deal is only a band-aid for a much larger water crisis that the Latin American country faces.
The Chihuahua Bites
Beginning in January, protests broke out multiple times in the state of Chihuahua, opposing the Mexican government’s plans to deliver water to the U.S. Protesters set fire to government offices and vehicles, and in response, police launched tear gas in failed attempts to disperse the crowd.
In September, thousands of protesters seized the La Boquilla dam. A woman was fatally shot in the resulting violent confrontation with Mexico’s National Guard. This past Tuesday, six officers were arrested for the woman’s death.
The Chihuahua protests reflect local Mexican farmers’ frustration over the 1944 treaty. Farmers complain that the government’s water deliveries deplete the already-scant regional water supply.
“There are thousands of farmers desperate for water. We have had no rain in months and there will be nothing left for the spring crops,” said Guerrero Carillo, a local farmer who was at the protest.
Severe droughts emerged earlier this decade, ravaging the livelihood of Chihuahua farmers. From 1940 to 2010, average annual precipitation was 39 centimeters, and farmers normally harvested 100,000 metric tons of corn. In 2011, which only saw 26 centimeters of rain, Chihuahua farmers produced 500 tons of corn and one-sixth of their usual bean harvest. This year is especially difficult, given that dryness has reached a three-decade peak. 52 of 67 municipalities in Chihuahua are suffering from droughts. A forecast predicts intense water deficits in Chihuahua from November 2020 through January 2021.
Farmers accuse Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) of kissing up to Trump. Before the deal was finalized, AMLO had insisted on paying the water debt—which farmers vehemently opposed—to maintain friendly relations with the U.S. López Obrador thanked Trump last month for being respectful of Mexican sovereignty, despite pressure from the U.S. for Mexico to fulfill its end of the water treaty.
The All-American Canal System functions alongside several other canals and dams to supply water to farmers and residents of Imperial Valley, California. (Wikimedia Commons)
I’ll Be Dammed
Farmers are not the only victims of water injustice. The Colorado River, which spans across several southwestern states before reaching Mexico, is dammed at the international border. The Mexican side of the dam is dry, forcing ordinary residents to deal with a permanent water shortage. A few miles north, Americans play leisurely in an abundant river.
The United States’ primary method of controlling disputed water resources is through geographic river manipulation. The All-American Canal replaced the Alamo Canal in 1942, diverting water from the Colorado River to California’s Imperial Valley for irrigation purposes. Throughout the 20th century, the U.S. constructed several dams that caused river flow in Mexico to dwindle from 1,200 cubic meters per second to a mere 0.5 cubic meters per second. Most of the water supply in Baja California goes to agriculture, leaving the meager, polluted remainder to be split among urban areas.
These infrastructure projects have severe impacts on Mexican groundwater. The 2009 All-American Canal Lining Project, framed as a water conservation initiative that would benefit Californians with an extra 83.5 million cubic meters of water annually, could produce long-term consequences for numerous regions in Mexico. A 2019 study predicts a five-meter drawdown from 2012-2022 in the Mexicali Aquifer due to reduced groundwater levels, depleting a major water source for urban and rural areas in Mexicali, Tijuana, and San Luis Rio Colorado. Decreased water volume also increases salinity levels, which is harmful to less salt-tolerant crops.
Resistance to the canal lining project came from both U.S. and Mexican economic and environmental groups. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals dismissed their challenges and ruled in favor of the project in 2007. However, there was a key issue in the ruling: the exclusion of Mexicali Valley farmers in the litigation process.
The ruling highlights the broader problem of the environmental injustice resulting from U.S. water policies. Water is a shared resource, and distribution arrangements affect both countries, but the U.S. has made several unilateral decisions regarding the Colorado River infrastructure projects. Even if the Mexican government has some leverage in bilateral negotiations, those impacted most significantly by water deals—Mexican civilians and farmers—have little say in the matter.
When dealing with initiatives not involving the U.S. government, Mexican civilians have more influence. In March this year, Mexican voters secured an unlikely victory when they successfully rejected the 1.4 billion-dollar construction of a mammoth brewery owned by Constellation Brands, an American company that produces Corona, Modelo, and Pacifico. The brewery would have used 25 percent of Mexicali water reserves, unacceptable for farmers and activists struggling to adapt to water shortages.
Mistreatied Water
However, the United States is not solely responsible for Mexico’s water crisis. Farmers recognize that Mexico’s federal water regulator plays an important role in drought management.
“The root of the problem is the misuse, mismanagement, and distribution of water by Conagua,” said Salvador Alcantar, president of the Association of Irrigation Users of the State of Chihuahua.
Beaches in Imperial Beach, San Diego, have been closed off due to Tijuana sewage runoff. (Wikimedia Commons)
Baja California officials accuse local and international companies of colluding with the state’s former water agency employees. These companies, including Coca-Cola, FedEx, Samsung, Hyundai, and Walmart, did not fully pay their water bills for factories, retail stores, and distribution centers.
As if water theft was not bad enough, corporations illegally dump contaminated water into Tijuana’s drainage systems. Eventually, this sewage makes its way to the Pacific Ocean and crosses the U.S.-Mexico border, polluting cities like Imperial Beach in San Diego.
Others argue that water shortages are mostly a demand problem. The North American Free Trade Agreement caused a surge in American consumption of Mexican agricultural products, which exploded Mexican water usage for irrigation in the 1990s.
As government officials, citizens, and companies point fingers at each other, another insidious force wrecks havoc in the region: climate change. Droughts will get longer, lands will be less arable, and there is little doubt that Mexico will face even more difficulties fulfilling its water treaty obligations.