Mexico-U.S. Water Debate Heats Up

May 15, 2002

HARLINGEN, Texas - In a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz said he is enraged by reports the North American Development Bank (NADB) may loan the state of Chihuahua funds for upgrading its water systems.

Tensions are mounting among farmers in Ortiz's home district, who say crops in Mexico's upriver Rio Bravo watershed are flourishing as crops in South Texas are dying - allegedly due to Mexico's failure to comply with a 1944 water sharing treaty.

"Our government cannot continue to move forward with projects that have no guarantees by Mexico to release water that is obligated by this treaty," Ortiz said.

Ortiz was reacting to news reports Mexico was seeking hundreds of millions of dollars to fund Rio Bravo irrigation projects. The border waterway is known as the Rio Grande in the United States. Bank spokesman Juan Flores said the institution did not have applications for any such projects, and the information may have come from Mexican officials naming the development bank as a potential source for dramatic irrigation system overhauls.

The San Antonio-based bank was established by the North American Free Trade Agreement to finance water and waste management projects on both sides of the border.

Albert Szekely, Mexico's point man on the water issue, on Tuesday said President Vicente Fox had presented Bush with a package of 34 measures costing about $500 million during the March UN conference in Monterrey. By conserving water along Mexico's side of the Rio Bravo, Mexico will be better able to meet its obligation, he said.

"Many people don't want to talk about those things. They want to hear water deliveries," Szekely said. "But we have to insist on looking ahead, because otherwise we are going to be in this situation every year."

Mexico has already begun implementing the project and funding sources are being "talked about," Szekely said.

According to the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission, Mexico's initial request for a little over $1 million, including $300,000 from Canada, was "in progress." Even the development bank's 50,000-dollar contribution toward scoping studies for the project are drawing criticism on the U.S. side of the border.

In an April 30 letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Texas Gov. Rick Perry urges requests of aid to Mexico be denied until the water debt is settled.

"Funding this request while Mexico is still far behind in its water treaty obligations would be adding insult to real economic injury to the citizens, farmers, and ranchers of South Texas," Perry wrote.

Carolyn Brittin, an official with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, said Mexico was wise to want irrigation improvements to conserve vast amounts of water. But the Perry administration will not support plans that neglect the nation's debt to South Texas farmers, Brittin said.

"There are no indications the model was going to be used to help them meet their obligations under the treaty," Brittin said.

Mexican officials say they are suffering from the same drought conditions as deep South Texas and are paying as much as they can.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=25720