To state the obvious, our region is dry. There just isn’t a lot of water here, and the water that does exist is shared among multiple states and countries. New Mexico, Texas, and Chihuahua all rely on the same dwindling water sources. To share these water sources, communication is key.
Gilbert Anaya is with the International Boundary and Water Commission, which oversees water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico. He says information sharing among water experts is sometimes happenstance.
“A lot of times the people that you meet actually have a piece of information that you need and just by chance you run into them,” he says. “And great, you’ve found somebody that has a piece of data that you need,”
Anaya is leading a group discussion at a water summit in Las Cruces. Dozens of stakeholders are gathered here – policymakers, researchers, water utility leaders – to trade knowledge and come up with strategies for managing drought in the region.
Anaya doesn’t want to leave information sharing to chance, like two researchers bumping into each other at a conference. So right now, his group is discussing how the U.S. and Mexico can better collect and exchange information.
They’re focused on transboundary aquifers. That is, aquifers that cross international lines, providing groundwater to farmers, municipalities and industries on both sides of the border.
“Our goal has always been to collect information so that we can provide that to decision makers for better management of the aquifers,” Anaya says. So no one over-pumps and depletes them.
“Surface water because you see the resource- you see the water, we have gauging stations, we have all sorts of monitoring,” he says. “Versus groundwater, where you’ll have groundwater wells, it’s more invisible.”
Water sharing is a delicate balance, in this drought-prone desert region.
“Water supplies along the border, whether it’s the groundwater aquifers or the surface waters, it’s vital to both the communities on both sides of the border,” says Jayne Harkins, Commissioner of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission. “Everybody needs to water to drink and bathe in.”
Most water in the region is used for agriculture; it’s also used to support industry.
There is a treaty in place, dating back to 1906, that determines how to distribute surface water from the Rio Grande. Each country gets a set amount, which dips during shortages. But there’s no treaty governing the aquifers. It’s up to both countries to try to take only what they need, and not overdraw.
“It’s a shared resource that we need to have all across the border and to use it wisely,” Harkins says.
That’s part of why leaders like Gilbert Anaya are so passionate about collecting and sharing information; the more each country knows about the aquifer, the better they’ll be able to plan and the less likely to over-pump.
But Jayne Harkins also sees an aquifer treaty – or treaties – on the horizon.
“This is probably the next generation,” she says. “A treaty surrounding groundwater is probably in the forefront sometime in the near future.”
She’s not exactly sure what it would look like. Aquifers aren’t like a river, one single source of water.
“I do think it’s more site specific,” Harkins says. “So I don’t know if it’s individual [treaties] or if there’s just a general broad treaty and then you work on each basin with the locals because that’s where the information and data needs to be exchanged.”
There are obstacles to collecting and exchanging information. The Trump administration is taking steps to divide the U.S. and Mexico, building physical barriers between the two countries, which could disrupt water patterns.
And New Mexico and Texas are in a long-running lawsuit over water. Gilbert Anaya says that’s caused Mexico to step back and try to not to get involved in a domestic battle. But he says ultimately, the future of both countries depends on properly managing the water, and on building trust and relationships.
