PRESS RELEASE
August 2001
The Paso del
Norte Water Task Force recently released a short publication entitled,
"Water Planning in the Paso del Norte: Toward Regional Coordination." The
report covers basic background information on population, water, land use,
and institutions in the region, and compares current water plans made by
institutions throughout the region. The report is intended to serve as a
resource for policy-makers, communities, and water providers in the region
to achieve a more sustainable water management and use.
"The basic problem in the Paso del Norte is the combination of rapid
population growth and increasingly scarce water supplies in a semi-arid
climate. Since the water supply is shared among the states of New Mexico,
Texas and Chihuahua, to find a solution to the problem, urban and
agricultural water users from all three areas need to work together," said
Task Force Co-chair Nestor Valencia. The challenge, continued Valencia, is
to create a solution within the existing political and institutional
framework that will allow the region to sustain its growing population in
the future with existing resources.
Nestor Valencia is Vice President for Planning at the El Paso Community
Foundation and the presiding Chair of the Task Force. The other Co-Chairs of
the Task Force are Alejandra de la Vega of Ciudad Ju‡rez. Chihuahua, and Dan
Sisbarro of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The Paso del Norte encompasses the Rio Grande/Río Bravo from Elephant Butte
Dam, New Mexico to Fort Quitman, Texas, and covers parts of two countries,
two U.S. and one Mexican state, the cities of Las Cruces (NM), El Paso (TX),
and Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua), and several irrigation districts.
The report is the first publication of the Paso del Norte Water Task Force.
The Task Force was initiated by the Houston Advanced Research Center, a
not-for-profit research institution, with New Mexico State University and
the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, and the financial support of the
Hewlett Foundation. The Task Force was convened in April 1999 by the
International Boundary and Water Commission as a non-governmental regional
organization. The Task Force is an apolitical advisory organization
comprised of about 20 members who are civic leaders, managers of municipal
water utilities and irrigation districts, water users, and water experts
from New Mexico, Texas and Chihuahua. The Task Force is the first group in
the region to bring together equal representation from the three areas of
New Mexico, Texas and Chihuahua, with both urban and agricultural interests,
in a neutral, informal setting. More information on the Task Force is
available through their website:
http://www.sharedwater.org
The report was prepared by a working group appointed by the Task Force
consisting of Task Force members and members of the Task Force Support Team
in order to collect basic information about existing water plans. The Task
Force felt that this research would add useful insight to its discussions
about the opportunities for cooperative actions across international, state
and municipal boundaries, and the possibility for regional water planning.
The report is also intended to serve as a resource that will support
continued dialogue on these topics among Task Force members and others in
the region, and serve as a source of general information for the public.
The report is available in English and Spanish electronically at
http://www.sharedwater.org/water_planning.html, or by calling Carlos
Rincón at (915) 543-9292. |
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