Ing. Mario López PérezComisión Nacional del Agua

Progress and Perspectives in Mexico - US Join Cooperative Actions on the Colorado River, with

Drought and Climate Change

Navigating the Future of the Colorado River

University of Colorado Law SchoolWolf Law BuildingBoulder, Colorado

June 8-10, 2011

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

• Ten dams control the flow regimeand none lies in Mexico. Only one isinternational.

• 1.5 millions hectares are irrigated inUSA and 170,000 hectares inMéxico.

• After irrigation, evaporation is thesecond largest water consumer.

• 30 million people receive watersupply 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

Mexico relies on US ability to store and manage water

International Treaty of 1944: Delivers to MexicoEstablishes that:

• “Of the Colorado River waters,whatever their source, there areassigned to Mexico a guaranteedvolume of 1850.2 Mm3 per year”.

• In cases of extraordinary drought orserious accident to the irrigationsystems in the USA, this volume isreduced in the same proportion ofreductions in the U.S.

• When the water in the ColoradoRiver is in excess of the needs ofsupply / consumption in the U.S.,they are obligated to deliver toMexico additional volumes of waterfrom the Colorado River System forup to a total volume not exceeding2096.9 Mm3.

Colorado River Basin Status

Current Storage

Percent Full

Content

(Mm3)

Elevation

(msnm)

Lake Powell 56% 16,795.97 1,102.94

Lake Mead 43% 13,775.14 334.15

Total System Contents

54% 39,877.94

May 24, 2011

The historical deliveries from the United States in 1995-2009 period show that everyyear these had been above the established volume and in six of them even over themaximum volume.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

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

1,9332,112

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 2,062Vo

lum

e (

hm

3)

Time (years)

Annual Volumes from 1995 to 2010

Volumen Establecido en el Tratado de 1944 Volumen Excedente

Main Water Uses in Baja California

80.60%

8.90%

7%3.50%

Agriculture Urban Industrial Otros

9

US-Mexico Cooperation ActionsWith the vision of managing the watershed integrally, within the IBWC it wasformed in 2008 a core group and four working groups with representatives offederal, state and NGOs in Mexico and the US.

Main Objectives of Mexico

• Meet current water needs, and future for urban uses, agriculture andenvironment in the US-Mexico border

• Assess current weather conditions, and future condition of scarcity.• Developing new sources and increase storage capacity.• Binational investment programs for water conservation and environmental

improvement.

Main Objectives of the US

• Addressing current needs of water quantity and quality and in the futurefor urban use, agriculture and environment of US and Mexico

• Implement procedures to better manage water scarcity.• Evaluate potential water exchange US-Mexico of new sources produced by

the development of infrastructure, improvements or other projects.• Assess potential impact of climate change on Colorado River.

• Use of the US Infrastructure by Mexico to store exceeding volumesgenerated.

• Joint investments in conservation water projects. US receives water for adetermined time in exchange of investment.

• Joint Desalination Projects. US receives water for a determined time inexchange of investment.

• Identified Projects by Binational Groups:

– Modernization of the Mexicali’s Irrigation District.

– Improvement of the agricultural drainage system.

– Base flow downstream Morelos Dam.

– Environmental Restoration Projects.

– Mexico’s water conveyance by All American Canal.

– Construction of Storage Dams in Mexico for different uses.

– Aquifer Recharge Projects.

– Aquifer Monitoring.

– Other Projects.

New Water Sources.• Sites identification to build a Binational Desalination Plant at

Rosarito, B.C.

Conservation.• Lining of 75 km of the main network of ID014 with a cost of 680

MDP, the recovery of water would be 46 hm3/year, that volume isnot committed to the users.

Environmental.• Establishment of five priority areas for conservation and water

needs map to the environment, considering the boundary andriparian area and the Colorado River Delta

Operation.• AAC Connection with PB-0 of the Colorado River – Tijuana

Aqueduct, Aquifer Monitoring, Modeling the Colorado RiverSystem.

Binational Desalination Plant in Rosarito, B.C.

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

The volume of desalinated water would be shared between Mexico andUS.

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

The activities in which we work are:

• Data collection• Field visits to possible sites for the plant• Tour through various routes for water delivery• Energy requirements• Water demand projections for Mexico and the US• Requirements and Environmental Permitting

Conclusions of the first stage

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.

• Further develop the information necessary to decidewhether to continue with the project or not.

• Continue working within the Joint Cooperation Process.

• In 2011, CONAGUA scheduled 250,000 dollars to throughMexican section of IBWC conduct:

Evaluate Alternative Conveyance Alignments of the ProductWater.

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

From both studies the Terms of Reference are finished and it isexpected 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 ofconduction of the hydraulic network.

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

Proposal

• To construct a storage dam to conserve volumes from the ID014Program, when the demand of water is low because differentcauses

Conservation

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 environmentalpurposes in that region.

• CONAGUA is working in the Terms of Reference. The bidding will be thisyear through Mexican Section IBWC.

• Focused on restoring Cottonwood-willow in association with Mezquite• 25 - 50 acres• Inside the levees • Physical Viability

Soil Topography Salinity Existent vegetation

• Land Tenure (concession)• Access to irrigation water• Social considerations• Synergies

Considerations

• 50 acres• 2,100 trees per acre• Cottonwood - Willow• Flood irrigation• 10 af per acre• 2 year of monitoring and

maintenance after planting• Cost per acre $6,510

Pilot Restoration Project in the Colorado River Delta

Laguna Grande

El Chauce

Miguel Alemán

Potential Sites

• Miguel Alemán• El Chauce• Laguna Grande

Miguel Alemán

• Located in the limitrophe section in B.C.• Binational Restoration Initiative• Restoration design and water rights

available• Work to request concession in progress

• The project will cost 698,000 dollars, from which 372,500were 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 ColoradoRiver - Tijuana Aqueduct, through a pipe with 5.6 m3/s of capacity,the project cost is estimated in 59.4 million pesos and would bepaid by Mexico.

•On April 12, a field trip was conducted at AAC with staff of IBWCboth sections, USBOR, CEA, IID and CONAGUA to show to theUSBOR the site where CEA suggest to construct the emergencyconnection.

•During the field trip an old gate was found, the USBOR will exploreif is a historic gate.

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

•The USBOR is analyzing the amount of water available

• It was proposed to work in Mexicali – Imperial Valley and Yuma – SanLuis Río Colorado Aquifers models

• Mexico operates a monitoring net; the main line of piezometersconsists of 12 observation wells distributed along the Mesa deAndrade

• In 2010, the information of the piezometers and its interpretation inthe northeastern zone of the Mexicali Valley aquifer were updated.

• The study concludes that the impacts from the AAC lining in terms oflowering of the level are shown in Mexico since late 2008

• The analysis of the information from September 2008 to January2010 shows that the piezometric levels are lowering at a rate from1.43 to 1.93 m/year average.

• In 2011, CONAGUA will conduct the first stage of a numericalgroundwater flow model for assessing the effects of the AAC lining atthe northeast zone in the Mexicali Valley Aquifer

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

• The information of the Colorado River was taken from CRSS modeldeveloped and approved in US.

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

• The model considers as users to Mexicali, Tijuana, Tecate, Ensenada,San Luis Río Colorado, el ARCT, ID modules, rural population andenvironmental requirements.

• Water sources are the same in the entire Colorado River Basin.

• Six scenarios are been simulating, taking into account flows to theDelta, savings by modernization to environmental uses, storage indams and aquifers.

• CONAGUA is updating the information of the piezometricmonitoring network at the northeast Mexicali Valley Aquifer. Itwill be completed this month

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

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

• Ensure that both governments use the same weather information.

• Agree operating system policies to deliver water to Mexico

• The reduce of water to Mexico due shortage must be defined.

• Give information to the other three working groups that allowthem to have elements for decision-making that benefit bothcountries

• Inefficient water use in agriculture and inwater supply

• Climate change or climate shift

• New water sources development withoutsolvable environment deterioration anduncontrolled social impact

• Open minded basin water management

• Change People´s water culture and educationlinked to almost permanent water scarcityscenario

• Usage of water for environmental purposes

• Use the US system to store Mexico’s water,flexibilize its operation and be prepared to facecontinuous shortage conditions.

• Generate new sources of water that increases thewater supply and reduces pressure on the presenthydrological system.

• Explore US investments scheme in infrastructure inexchange of water for a determined time, thatwould be interesting and benefit for both countries.

• Use part of the volumes conserved or generated forenvironmental purposes.

Final Message

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

¡¡Thanks!!