International Boundary and Water Commission
Encyclopedia
The International Boundary and Water Commission is an international body created in 1889 by the United States
and Mexico
to administer the many boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements between the two nations.
The organization was created as the International Boundary Commission by the Convention of 1889, and given its present name under the 1944 Treaty. Under these agreements, the IBWC has a U.S. section and a Mexican section, headquartered in the adjoining cities of El Paso, Texas
, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The U.S. section is administered by the United States Department of State
; the Mexican part by the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of Mexico.
Some of the rights and obligations administered by the IBWC include:
The U.S. and Mexican commissioners meet at least weekly, alternating the place of meetings and are in almost daily contact with one another. Each section maintains its own engineering staff, a secretary and such legal advisers and other assistants as it deems necessary.
of 2 February 1848 fixed the international boundary between El Paso – Ciudad Juárez and the Gulf of Mexico. The Gadsden Purchase Treaty
of 30 December 1853 extended the southern boundary of New Mexico and Arizona southwards to enable the United States to construct a railroad to the west coast along a southern route and to resolve a question arising from the 1848 Treaty as to the location of the southern boundary of New Mexico. Temporary commissions were formed by these boundary treaties to perform the first joint mission of the governments of the United States and Mexico, which was to survey and demarcate the boundary on the ground in accordance with the treaties. Another temporary commission was created by the 1852 Boundary Convention (29 July), which surveyed and increased the number of monuments marking the land boundary westward from El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. As settlements sprang up along the boundary rivers and the adjoining lands began to be developed for agriculture in the late 19th century, questions arose as to the location of the boundary when the rivers changed their course and transferred tracts of land from one side of the river to the other. The two governments, by the 1884 Border Convention (12 November) adopted certain rules designated to deal with such questions.
By the 1889 Border Convention (1 March), the two governments created the International Boundary Commission (IBC), to consist of a United States Section and a Mexican Section. The IBC was charged with the application of the rules of the 1884 Convention, for the settlement of questions arising as to the location of the boundary when the rivers changed their course. That Convention was modified by the Banco Convention of 20 March 1905 to retain the Rio Grande and the Colorado River as the boundary.
The 1906 Border Convention (21 May) provided for the distribution between the United States and Mexico of the waters of the Rio Grande above Fort Quitman
, Texas
, for the 143-km (89 mile) international boundary reach of the Rio Grande through the El Paso–Juárez Valley. This Convention allotted to Mexico 60000 acre.ft* (74,000,000 m³) annually of the waters of the Rio Grande to be delivered in accordance with a monthly schedule at the headgate to Mexico's Acequia Madre just above Ciudad Juárez. To facilitate such deliveries, the United States constructed, at its expense, the Elephant Butte Dike in its territory. The Convention includes the proviso that in case of extraordinary drought or serious accident to the irrigation system in the United States, the amount of water delivered to the Mexican Canal shall be diminished in the same proportion as the water delivered to lands under the irrigation system in the United States downstream of Elephant Butte Dike.
In the 1933 Border Convention (1 February), the two governments agreed to jointly construct, operate and maintain, through the IBC, the Rio Grande Rectification Project, which straightened and stabilized the 249-km (155 mile) river boundary through the highly developed El Paso–Juárez Valley. The project further provided for the control of the river's floods through this Valley.
The Treaty for the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande of 3 February 1944 distributed between the two countries the waters of the Rio Grande from Fort Quitman to the Gulf of Mexico, and the waters of the Colorado River. Of the waters of the Rio Grande, the Treaty allocates to Mexico:
The Treaty allots to the United States:
The 1944 Treaty further provided for the two Governments to jointly construct, operate and maintain on the main channel of the Rio Grande the dams required for the conservation, storage and regulation of the greatest quantity of the annual flow of the river to enable each country to make optimum use of its allotted waters. The 1944 Treaty also provides that of the waters of the Colorado River, Mexico is to receive:
To enable diversion of Mexico's allotted waters, the Treaty provided for the construction by Mexico of a main diversion structure in the Colorado River, below the point where the California–Baja California land boundary line intersects the river. It also provided for the construction at Mexico's expense of such works as may be needed in the United States to protect its lands from such floods and seepage as might result from the construction and operation of the diversion structure.
In the 1944 Treaty the two Governments agreed to give preferential attention to the solution of all border sanitation problems. This Treaty entrusts the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) (the renamed International Boundary Commission of the 1889 Convention) with the application of its terms, the regulation and exercise of the rights and obligations which the two governments assumed therunder, and the settlement of all disputes to which its observance and execution may give rise. The Treaty also provides that the IBWC study, investigate and report to the Governments on such hydroelectric facilities as the IBWC finds should be built at the international storage dams and on such flood control works, other than those specified in the Treaty, that the IBWC finds should be built on the boundary rivers, the estimated cost thereof, the part to be built by each government, and to be operated and maintained by each through its Section of the IBWC.
Under the terms of the 1944 Treaty: the two Governments reached agreement for the solution of the international problem of the salinity of the Lower Colorado River (30 August 1973), and the IBWC submitted and the two Governments approved "Recommendations for the Solution of the Border Sanitation Problems" (24 September 1979).
The Chamizal Convention of 29 August 1963 resolved the nearly 100 year old boundary problem at El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. Known as the Chamizal Dispute
, this involved some 2.4 km² (600 acres) of territory which were transferred from the south to the north bank of the Rio Grande by movement of the river during the latter part of the 19th century. By this Convention the two governments gave effect to a 1911 arbitration award under 1963 conditions. The Convention provided for the relocation of the IBWC of the 7 km (4.4 miles) of the channel of the Rio Grande so as to transfer a net amount of 1,769,200 square metres (437.18 acres) from the north to the south side of the river. U.S. President
Lyndon Johnson met Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos
in El Paso on 24 September 1964 to commemorate the ratification of the Chamizal Convention.
The 1970 Boundary Treaty (23 November) resolved all pending boundary differences and provided for maintaining the Rio Grande and the Colorado River as the international boundary. The Rio Grande was reestablished as the boundary throughout its 2,019-km (1,254 mile) limitrophe section. The Treaty includes provisions for restoring and preserving the character of the Rio Grande as the international boundary where that character has been lost, to minimize changes in the channel, and to resolve problems of sovereignty that might arise due to future changes in the channel of the Rio Grande. It provides for procedures designed to avoid the loss of territory by either country incident to future changes in the river's course due causes other than lateral movement, incident to eroding one of its banks and depositing alluvium on the opposite bank. This treaty, too, charged the IBWC with carrying out its provisions.
The IBWC is a globally-recognized leader in addressing boundary and water issues. Annually, numerous international delegations schedule meetings with the IBWC to gain insight from the Commission's 120+ years of expertise. The IBWC Commissioners are also in high demand as speakers at national and international water conferences because of the high regard the water community has for the IBWC.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to administer the many boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements between the two nations.
The organization was created as the International Boundary Commission by the Convention of 1889, and given its present name under the 1944 Treaty. Under these agreements, the IBWC has a U.S. section and a Mexican section, headquartered in the adjoining cities of El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The U.S. section is administered by the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
; the Mexican part by the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of Mexico.
Some of the rights and obligations administered by the IBWC include:
- distribution between the two countries of the waters of the Rio GrandeRio GrandeThe Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
and of the Colorado RiverColorado RiverThe Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
; - regulation and conservation of the waters of the Rio Grande for their use by the two countries by joint construction, operation and maintenance of international storage damDamA dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s and reservoirs and plants for generating hydroelectric energy at the dams; - protection of lands along the river from floods by leveeLeveeA levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
and floodway projects; - solution of border sanitation and other border water quality problems;
- preservation of the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundary;
- demarcation of the land boundary.
The U.S. and Mexican commissioners meet at least weekly, alternating the place of meetings and are in almost daily contact with one another. Each section maintains its own engineering staff, a secretary and such legal advisers and other assistants as it deems necessary.
The border and water treaties
The Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...
of 2 February 1848 fixed the international boundary between El Paso – Ciudad Juárez and the Gulf of Mexico. The Gadsden Purchase Treaty
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...
of 30 December 1853 extended the southern boundary of New Mexico and Arizona southwards to enable the United States to construct a railroad to the west coast along a southern route and to resolve a question arising from the 1848 Treaty as to the location of the southern boundary of New Mexico. Temporary commissions were formed by these boundary treaties to perform the first joint mission of the governments of the United States and Mexico, which was to survey and demarcate the boundary on the ground in accordance with the treaties. Another temporary commission was created by the 1852 Boundary Convention (29 July), which surveyed and increased the number of monuments marking the land boundary westward from El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. As settlements sprang up along the boundary rivers and the adjoining lands began to be developed for agriculture in the late 19th century, questions arose as to the location of the boundary when the rivers changed their course and transferred tracts of land from one side of the river to the other. The two governments, by the 1884 Border Convention (12 November) adopted certain rules designated to deal with such questions.
By the 1889 Border Convention (1 March), the two governments created the International Boundary Commission (IBC), to consist of a United States Section and a Mexican Section. The IBC was charged with the application of the rules of the 1884 Convention, for the settlement of questions arising as to the location of the boundary when the rivers changed their course. That Convention was modified by the Banco Convention of 20 March 1905 to retain the Rio Grande and the Colorado River as the boundary.
The 1906 Border Convention (21 May) provided for the distribution between the United States and Mexico of the waters of the Rio Grande above Fort Quitman
Fort Quitman
Fort Quitman was a United States Army installation on the Rio Grande in Texas, south of present-day Sierra Blanca, twenty miles southeast of McNary in southern Hudspeth County. The fort was named for Mississippi Governor John A...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, for the 143-km (89 mile) international boundary reach of the Rio Grande through the El Paso–Juárez Valley. This Convention allotted to Mexico 60000 acre.ft* (74,000,000 m³) annually of the waters of the Rio Grande to be delivered in accordance with a monthly schedule at the headgate to Mexico's Acequia Madre just above Ciudad Juárez. To facilitate such deliveries, the United States constructed, at its expense, the Elephant Butte Dike in its territory. The Convention includes the proviso that in case of extraordinary drought or serious accident to the irrigation system in the United States, the amount of water delivered to the Mexican Canal shall be diminished in the same proportion as the water delivered to lands under the irrigation system in the United States downstream of Elephant Butte Dike.
In the 1933 Border Convention (1 February), the two governments agreed to jointly construct, operate and maintain, through the IBC, the Rio Grande Rectification Project, which straightened and stabilized the 249-km (155 mile) river boundary through the highly developed El Paso–Juárez Valley. The project further provided for the control of the river's floods through this Valley.
The Treaty for the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande of 3 February 1944 distributed between the two countries the waters of the Rio Grande from Fort Quitman to the Gulf of Mexico, and the waters of the Colorado River. Of the waters of the Rio Grande, the Treaty allocates to Mexico:
- All of the waters reaching the main channel of the Rio Grande from the San JuanSan Juan River (Tamaulipas)The San Juan River is the largest and most important river in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. The river feeds the El Cuchillo Dam, which provides the city of Monterrey with water. The San Juan River basin has a total surface area of . The San Juan River is a contributor to the Rio Grande...
and AlamoRio AlamoThe Rio Alamo, or Río Álamo, is a stream in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, and is a tributary of the Rio Grande. It is impounded by Las Blancas Dam, which was completed in 2001 and diverts water to the Marte Gómez Reservoir on the Rio San Juan, another tributary of the Rio Grande.The Rio Alamo...
Rivers, including the return flows from the lands irrigated from those two rivers. - Two-thirds of the flow in the main channel of the Rio Grande from the measured Rio ConchosRio ConchosThe Rio Conchos is a large river in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It joins the Río Bravo del Norte at the town of Ojinaga, Chihuahua.-Description:...
, Rio San Diego, Rio San RodrigoRio San RodrigoThe Rio San Rodrigo is a stream in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, and is a tributary of the Rio Grande.The Rio San Rodrigo enters the Rio Grande at Rio Grande river kilometer 834, at El Moral, Coahuila and about south of Quemado, Texas.The Rio San Rodrigo originates in the Sierra Madre Oriental...
, Rio EscondidoRio Escondido (Coahuila)The Rio Escondido is a stream in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, and is a tributary of the Rio Grande....
, and Rio Salado, and the Arroyo de las Vacas, subject to certain provisions - One-half of all other flows occurring in the main channel of the Rio Grande downstream from Fort Quitman.
The Treaty allots to the United States:
- All of the waters reaching the main channel of the Rio Grande from the Pecos and Devils Rivers, Goodenough Spring and Alamito, Terlingua, San Felipe and Pinto Creeks.
- One-third of the flow reaching the main channel of the river from the six named measured tributaries from Mexico and provides that this third shall not be less, as an average amount in cycles of five consecutive years, than 350000 acre.ft annually
- One-half of all other flows occurring in the main channel of the Rio Grande downstream from Fort Quitman.
The 1944 Treaty further provided for the two Governments to jointly construct, operate and maintain on the main channel of the Rio Grande the dams required for the conservation, storage and regulation of the greatest quantity of the annual flow of the river to enable each country to make optimum use of its allotted waters. The 1944 Treaty also provides that of the waters of the Colorado River, Mexico is to receive:
- A guaranteed annual quantity of 1500000 acre.ft to be delivered in accordance with schedules formulated in advance by Mexico within specified limitations.
- Any other waters arriving at the Mexican points of diversion under certain understandings.
To enable diversion of Mexico's allotted waters, the Treaty provided for the construction by Mexico of a main diversion structure in the Colorado River, below the point where the California–Baja California land boundary line intersects the river. It also provided for the construction at Mexico's expense of such works as may be needed in the United States to protect its lands from such floods and seepage as might result from the construction and operation of the diversion structure.
In the 1944 Treaty the two Governments agreed to give preferential attention to the solution of all border sanitation problems. This Treaty entrusts the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) (the renamed International Boundary Commission of the 1889 Convention) with the application of its terms, the regulation and exercise of the rights and obligations which the two governments assumed therunder, and the settlement of all disputes to which its observance and execution may give rise. The Treaty also provides that the IBWC study, investigate and report to the Governments on such hydroelectric facilities as the IBWC finds should be built at the international storage dams and on such flood control works, other than those specified in the Treaty, that the IBWC finds should be built on the boundary rivers, the estimated cost thereof, the part to be built by each government, and to be operated and maintained by each through its Section of the IBWC.
Under the terms of the 1944 Treaty: the two Governments reached agreement for the solution of the international problem of the salinity of the Lower Colorado River (30 August 1973), and the IBWC submitted and the two Governments approved "Recommendations for the Solution of the Border Sanitation Problems" (24 September 1979).
The Chamizal Convention of 29 August 1963 resolved the nearly 100 year old boundary problem at El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. Known as the Chamizal Dispute
Chamizal dispute
The Chamizal dispute was a border conflict over about on the U.S.-Mexico border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. It was caused by differences between the bed of the Rio Grande as surveyed in 1852 and the present channel of the river....
, this involved some 2.4 km² (600 acres) of territory which were transferred from the south to the north bank of the Rio Grande by movement of the river during the latter part of the 19th century. By this Convention the two governments gave effect to a 1911 arbitration award under 1963 conditions. The Convention provided for the relocation of the IBWC of the 7 km (4.4 miles) of the channel of the Rio Grande so as to transfer a net amount of 1,769,200 square metres (437.18 acres) from the north to the south side of the river. U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Lyndon Johnson met Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos was a Mexican politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964...
in El Paso on 24 September 1964 to commemorate the ratification of the Chamizal Convention.
The 1970 Boundary Treaty (23 November) resolved all pending boundary differences and provided for maintaining the Rio Grande and the Colorado River as the international boundary. The Rio Grande was reestablished as the boundary throughout its 2,019-km (1,254 mile) limitrophe section. The Treaty includes provisions for restoring and preserving the character of the Rio Grande as the international boundary where that character has been lost, to minimize changes in the channel, and to resolve problems of sovereignty that might arise due to future changes in the channel of the Rio Grande. It provides for procedures designed to avoid the loss of territory by either country incident to future changes in the river's course due causes other than lateral movement, incident to eroding one of its banks and depositing alluvium on the opposite bank. This treaty, too, charged the IBWC with carrying out its provisions.
The IBWC is a globally-recognized leader in addressing boundary and water issues. Annually, numerous international delegations schedule meetings with the IBWC to gain insight from the Commission's 120+ years of expertise. The IBWC Commissioners are also in high demand as speakers at national and international water conferences because of the high regard the water community has for the IBWC.
See also
- International Boundary Wastewater Treatment PlantInternational Boundary Wastewater Treatment PlantThe International Wastewater Treatment Plant is a plant developed by the International Boundary and Water Commission in the South Bay area of San Diego, California. Construction began on a 75-acre site, west of San Ysidro in the Tijuana River Valley...
, Plant developed by thw IBWC - U.S.-Mexico border for a detailed treatment of the various conventions and treaties overseen by the IBWC.
- Falcon International ReservoirFalcon International ReservoirFalcon International Reservoir, commonly called Falcon Lake, is a reservoir on the Rio Grande 40 miles southeast of Laredo, Texas, USA, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The huge lake is bounded by Starr and Zapata counties on the Texas side of the international border and the municipality and...
- Amistad ReservoirAmistad ReservoirAmistad Reservoir is a reservoir on the Rio Grande at its confluence with the Devils River 12 miles northwest of Del Rio, Texas, USA. The lake is bounded by Val Verde County on the Texas side of the international border, and the state of Coahuila on the Mexican side of the border...
- New River (California)New River (California)The New River flows north from near Cerro Prieto, through the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, into the United States through the city of Calexico, California towards the Salton Sea...
U.S.-Mexico river, reported as most polluted in North America,
External links
- Official site
- Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library
- http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1839903 Comprehensive history and Critique of Agency