Mexico and US Sign Shared Water Agreement for Colorado River

Posted by ANGELA

Published on Sun, Dec 2 2012

The Colorado river serves as a source of water for some 30 million people within America's southwest region and Mexico's bordering states. Seven US states, including Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming (Upper Division) and Nevada, Arizona, and California (Lower Division) rely on the river to supply their residents in such an arid climate. Large metropolises such as Los Angeles go through elaborate measures to pump water into the city from the river, as they have no other option. 

Droughts along with increased water usage, population growth, and increased industry and farming have begun to put quite a bit of pressure on the river in recent years, which ensue creates a large conflict for all reliant on the river for water. 

The latest accord, signed in late November 2012 and runs until 2017, is a major amendment of the original treaty signed in 1944. Under the deal, the US will send less water to Mexico during a drought, while Mexico will be able to store water north of the border during wet years. Mexico, which has little storage capacity, is allowed to store water in times of surplus in Lake Mead, a vast reservoir by the Hoover Dam on the Arizona-Nevada border. They will forgo some of their share during drought, a tactic already practiced by the states of California, Arizona and Nevada.

In addition to the shared water agreement, Mexico will also get $10m to repair irrigation channels damaged during a 2010 earthquake. Both the US and Mexico have agreed to fund efforts in restoring the Colorado River delta, which has largely dried up.