Report devles into details of U.S., Mexico Water Treaty

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Susan Combs Texas Agriculture Commisioner

Nov. 4, 2004 - It seems the more Texans learn about the state's water issues, the more complicated it becomes.

A research report issued in early 2004 details the specifics behind the water war between the United States and Texas, and how it is specifically affecting Texas agricultural producers.

According to the report which included papers by Susan Combs, Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner (TDA); Katharine Armstrong, former chair of Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPW); and Kathleen Hartnett White, chair, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), problems with Texas water issues are not a new issue.

What is new are the issues that have been addressed in recent years ... either in the Texas Legislature or under the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by the United States, Canada and Mexico, which took effect in 1994. Agreements really go back to 1944 when the United States and Mexico created a "U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty" which governed and divided the flow of water in the Rio Grande Basin from the Rio Grande and certain tributaries in the United States and Mexico.

According to a report prepared for Combs by the Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin, the Treaty stated "... Mexico must provide, at a minimum, an average of 350,000 acre-feet of water per year to the United States over a five-year cycle for a total of 1,750,000 acre-feet of water." An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, enough water to flood an acre of land a foot deep.

Under the 1944 agreement, Mexico was expected to send the United States (California and Arizona receive Colorado River water, too) 350,000 acre-feet of water each year, which would come from six Rio Grande tributaries. The United States was, in turn, to send Mexico 1.5 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River.

Over the past 60 years, Texans and agricultural producers ... especially those in the Rio Grande area ... have expected Mexico to abide by the agreement signed in 1944. Unfortunately, it just hasn't happened.

After years of losing land, money and producers due to a lack of water, 17 irrigation districts, North Alamo Water Supply Corporation, and 29 farmers sent notice to Mexican officials that, under the NAFTA agreement of 1994, unless Mexico delivers what is due, they will seek up to $500 million in damages from the Mexican government. The suit is being handled by Marzulla & Marzulla, attorneys at law located in Washington, D.C. If nothing is accomplished by the end of the year, it is expected that a federal suit will be filed under NAFTA.

"Mexico has unlawfully taken over 1,000,000 acre-feet of Texas water and given it to Mexican farmers so their farmers can grow crops. All while the crops of farmers in the Rio Grande Valley have dried up and blown away," said Nancie Marzulla, attorney for the claimants in a recent press release.

According to Combs and recent reports from the Center for North American Studies, CNAS 2003-4, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, "... irrigated water use from surface and groundwater sources in Chihuahua (Mexico) more than doubled from 1980 to 1997.

"President Fox has not demonstrated a sincere willingness to work to resolve the treaty issue," noted Combs on Oct. 26 from her office on the 11th floor of the Stephen F. Austin building, which overlooks the Capitol and downtown Austin.

The most accurate figures into Combs' office indicate the "official" figure of water in Mexico was 1.42 million acre-feet, plus additional water in reservoirs identified in satellite imagery. That does not include recent, heavy rains in Chihuahua in October, according to Gordon Wells of the University of Texas. Plenty of water to repay the United States, according to the agreement.

What happens in the future is anyone's guess. What Combs and other Texas officials are aware of is that the water is there for Mexico to return to the United States. Satellite photos show there is an abundance of water in Mexico. Fortunately, the Rio Grande Valley of Texas has received a lot of rain, this year, but an agreement is an agreement, officials feel.

While the state of Texas and its farmers do not have a legal right to demand the return of the water owed to the state and its producers, a suit through NAFTA has a legal "leg to stand on" for water rights, stated Combs.

Although the Mexico/Texas water problems have received a lot of publicity of late, Combs believes that rural producers need to be vigilant concerning water rights in their areas.

"Ground water conservation districts give the local guys the best opportunities to determine their future," said Combs.