Water Management in the Colorado River Basin, a

major challenge for Mexico and the United States,

before Drought and Climate Change.

Dr. Felipe I. Arreguín Cortés, Subdirector General Técnico.

El Manejo del Agua del Oeste en

Condiciones Climáticas Evolutivas

Conferencia Nacional CSG 2011 y Cumbre América del Norte

24,450 10,764

7,750

7,928

6,489

5,201

3,116

2,029

1,663

1,131

1,321

2,055

144

(annual m3per person)

Availability Criteria

Shortage: Less than 1,500 m3/hab./year

Severe Shortage: Less than 1,000 m3/hab./year Source: Statistics of Water in Mexico 2009,

CONAGUA

Frontera Sur

Golfo Centro

Península de Yucatán

Pacífico Sur

Pacífico Norte

Golfo Norte

Noroeste

Balsas

Lerma - S. - Pacífico

Río Bravo

P. de Baja California

Cuencas Cent. del N.

Valle de México

1,282 1,332

833

1,007

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

BC Río Bravo

Availability in 2005 Availability in 2025

Shortage (1,500 m3/person/year) Severe Shortage (1,000 m3/person/year)

Ava

ilab

ility

in m

3/p

erso

n/y

ear

1.3

9

0.8

5

0.4

1

0.0

9

0.1

6

0.1

9

1.3

1

0.1

3

0.1

4 0

.36

0.5

2

0.4

6

2.4

5

1.1

2

0.6

2

0.1

8

0.1

8

0.2

8

1.7

3

0.1

6

0.1

9

0.5

0

0.8

7

0.5

9

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

Tijuana Mexicali Ensenada Tecate San Luis Río Colorado

Nogales Cd. Juárez Acuña Piedras Negras

Nuevo Laredo

Reynosa Matamoros

Year 2005 Year 2025

Po

pu

latio

n in

mill

ion

pe

rso

ns

Source: CONAPO

• Colorado River has a length of 2,300 km.

• Ten dams control the flow regime and none lies in Mexico. Only one is international.

• 1.5 millions hectares are irrigated in USA and 170,000 hectares in México.

• After irrigation, evaporation is the second largest water consumer.

• 30 million people receive water supply from the Colorado river.

Water Allocation:

Upper Basin: 9,251 hm3

Lower Basin: 9,251 hm3

Mexico: 1,850 hm3

TOTAL 20,352 hm3

Water Availability:

18,500 hm3

The water is overallocated

Establishes that:

• “Of the Colorado River (CR) waters, whatever their source, there are assigned to Mexico a guaranteed volume of 1850.2 Mm3 per year”.

• In cases of extraordinary drought or serious accident to the irrigation systems in the USA, this volume is reduced in the same proportion of reductions in the U.S.

• When the water in the CR is in excess of the needs of supply / consumption in the U.S., they are obligated to deliver to Mexico additional volumes of water from the CR System for up to a total volume not exceeding 2096.9 Mm3.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

1,933 2,112

1,857

3,543

5,820

3,570

2,513

2,098 2,002 1,924 1,962 1,982 1,887 1,868 1,952 2,062

Vo

lum

en

(h

m3)

Tiempo(años)

Annual Volumes from 1995 to 2010

Volumen Establecido en el Tratado de 1944 Volumen Excedente

80.60%

8.90%

7% 3.50%

Agricultural Public - Urban Industrial Others

Almacenamiento Porcentaje de Llenado

Volumen Almacenado

(Mm3)

Elevación

(msnm)

Lago Powell 72% 21,492.58 1,113.01

Lago Mead 51% 16,634.07 341.07

Almacenamiento total del sistema

65% 47,631.17

Octubre 17, 2011

• Overexploitation of aquifers

• Contamination of groundwater discharges mainly urban,

industrial and agricultural.

• Urban and industrial growth and change of use of land for

agriculture, livestock, which change the environment.

• Of the total groundwater available in the Region, 60% are

located in the Mexicali Valley (agricultural use) and the “Mesa

Arenosa”, supply for the border cities of San Luis Rio Colorado

to Tijuana.

Source: Programa Hídrico Visión 2030 del Organismo de Cuenca Península de Baja California

Source: El cambio climático y el agua. Documento Técnico VI del Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre Cambio Climático

• The Colorado River meets much of the water needs of seven U.S. states and two from Mexico, this represents a population of 30 million inhabitants, it’s projected to reach 38 million by 2020.

• In the last 100 years, the percentage of area affected by drought in the U.S. has been 14% annual on average, with a maximum of 65% in 1934.

• 30-40% of the western U.S. has been under a drought since 1999, and the Colorado River has had, between 2000 and 2004, the five-year low flow rate ever recorded.

• Estimates show that with global warming and increased evaporation, runoff reduction reached 30% during this century.

• Most scenarios of Colorado River flow at Lees Ferry indicate that, in 20 years, the runoff could be insufficient to meet current demand for water resources.

Mexico fully shares the vision to manage the basin with a comprehensive approach and supports what IBWC in 2008 formalized: a core group and four working groups.

The federal, state and NGO’s representatives from Mexico which form part of the groups have a full decision making profile.

Core Group

Conservation Group

New Water Sources Group

System Operations Group

Environmental Group

Binational Desalination Plant in Rosarito, B.C.

A feasibility Study for the Binational Desalination Plant in Rosarito, B.C. is being conducted. The capacity of the plant would be 1,905 l/s in a first stage and 2,190 l/s as final capacity.

The volume of desalinated water would be shared between Mexico and US.

The San Diego County Water Authority funded the first phase of the study.

Potential Sites to construct the

plant

Corridor 2000

Rosarito Beach

Desalination Site

Inland Route

Coastal Route

Potential routes to convey

product water

• The project is feasible.

• The water demand of Mexico and USA is higher than expected, even higher than 2,190 l/s.

• There are potential sites to construct the Plant.

• There is enough energy available to the Plant. CFE would allow the use of its intake and its discharge for brine disposal.

• It is required to develop more alternatives to convey product water.

• Complicated Environmental Permitting.

• In 2011, CONAGUA scheduled 250,000 dollars to through

Mexican section of IBWC conduct:

Evaluate Alternative Conveyance Alignments of the Product Water.

Analyze the impacts of the project in the Tijuana, B.C. - San Diego Ca. region

From both studies the Terms of Reference are finished and it is expected to bid them shortly.

Background

In the ID014 two operative situations are presented:

• The variation of volumes at NIB impact the water deliveries; also affect the operational levels and the efficiency of conduction of the hydraulic network.

• Due the operation of the canal network of the ID014, a delay in the irrigation dates is presented and as a result an increase of demands programmed.

Proposal

• To construct a storage dam to conserve volumes from the ID014 Program, when the demand of water is low because different causes

Description

• The storage capacity would be 700,000 m3. The average volume usable in a year is 4 Mm3.

• The surplus volumes could be diverted to the Alamo Canal.

• The Executive Project cost would be 510,000 pesos.

• Both delegations agreed to equally fund the executive project in 2011.

• From the results it would be analyze the possibility to build the works.

• It is expected that the stored water can be used for environmental purposes in that region.

• The bidding will be this year through CONAGUA and Mexican Section IBWC.

Pilot Restoration Project in the Colorado River Delta

Laguna Grande

El Chauce

Miguel Alemán

• The project will cost 698,000 dollars, from which 372,500 were already invested by the Government of Mexico

• The 325,500 remaining will be invested by US in 2011

• Finalize baseline studies and share with the USBOR; complete restoration design.

• Continue with process to bring trees from US nurseries (USBOR donation).

• Finalize plan to deliver water rights to the site.

• Prepare temporary employment program.

Conveyance of Mexican Water through the AAC

• Mexico proposed connect the AAC with the PB-0 of the Colorado River - Tijuana Aqueduct, through a pipe with 5.6 m3/s of capacity, the project cost is estimated in 59.4 million pesos and would be paid by Mexico.

• The topography of the zone is being conducted to determine whether a pumping station is required or not.

• The USBOR is analyzing the amount of water available

• A Management Model of the Colorado River Basin is being developed from Lake Mead to the south.

• The model already incorporates the information on elevation, storage and evaporation in the dams, inflows to the basin and volumes required by users.

• Six scenarios are been simulating, taking into account flows to the Delta, savings by modernization to environmental uses, storage in dams and aquifers.

• CONAGUA is updating the information of the piezometric monitoring network at the northeast Mexicali Valley Aquifer. It will be completed this year.

• The effects of the AAC lining will be quantify in terms of the evolution of the static levels.

• The modeling scenarios will be agreed with the US to deliver final results.

• Ensure that both governments use the same weather information.

• Inefficient water use in agriculture and in water supply

• Climate change or climate shift

• New water sources development without solvable environment deterioration and uncontrolled social impact

• Change People s water culture and education linked to almost permanent water scarcity scenario

Mexico is committed to:

Cooperate with the US to strengthen policies for

sustainable water management;

Develop common opportunities and initiatives on

priority water issues (projects).

Share water surplus and shortage conditions (1944

Treaty).

Divulge this process and the results as an

international example of good practice in terms of

integrated water management at the basin level in

an climate change scenario.