US - MEXICO

shared aquifers
conflict

Background
The shared aquifers between the US and Mexico’s
border has surface-water conflict, from the Colorado
River to the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo River.

Factors making negotiations over a water

system difficult:
Not enough information was gathered
Price is costly to gather information
Science of groundwater is still inexact
fig 1. shared (transboundary) aquifers
between US - Mexico

Problem
Failure to Resolve Groundwater
Issues
There are ongoing problems related
to the use, allocation, and
management of groundwater despite
the presence of an "active supra-legal
authority since 1944",.
Ambiguities in Groundwater
Regimes
Due to its invisible and
subsurface nature, it is difficult
to manage and/or quantify

1973 Addendum (Minute 242): - Resulted from 10

years of negotiations.
Limited groundwater withdrawals on both sides
of the border.
Committed each nation to consult the other
Conflict regarding future groundwater development.
Management Still the only agreement between the two
nations on groundwater pumping since 1944.

Challenges surrounding these negotiations:

Lack of political support. There was a rift between state and
federal governments over water rights control.
The terms specifically addressed salinity - discouraged
appropriate studies on broader groundwater issues.
The wording and terms of the negotiation was also unclear -
which can hinder decisions and leave a lot of questions

The situation remains stagnant between the US and Mexico,

there is no movement addressing a new agreement
regarding the shared aquifers
Outcome There is a possibility of stakeholders focusing on more
localized cooperation efforts to address groundwater issues
in these border regions.

Good conditions for the agreement don’t ensure a conflict

resolution
Despite an active authority, the negotiations since 1973 have Lessons
not resolved international groundwater issues. Learned
Federal-State differences hinder cooperation:
This highlights how political dynamics can impact
international agreements and their cooperation efforts.