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- Info
Surface water quality in the border area between El Paso and the Gulf of Mexico
| Author: |
Rohlich, Gerard A. |
| Date: |
1982 |
| Periodical: |
Natural Resources Journal |
| Abstract: |
The Rio Grande was established as part of the United States-Mexican Boundary in 1848. Since that time a number of commissions and agencies at local, state, national, and international levels in both countries have conducted surveys and research programs, undertaken large scale projects, and created agreements and compacts dealing with water resource management in the Rio Grande basin. Most of the effort in the management programs has been directed at water quantity allocation-a need arising from the numerous conflicts between the U.S. and Mexico regarding allocation of water for irrigation. An extensive data base on water quality is available in numerous publications dating back to as early as 1924 when dissolved solids determinations and sediment concentrations were made on the Rio Grande at El Paso, Texas by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Most of the water quality data obtained in the United States since 1928 has been collected and compiled by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperative programs with the Texas Department of Water Resources and its predecessors. A reconnaissance of the chemical quality of surface waters of the Rio Grande Basin in Texas, published in 1974, provides an excellent summary of data for the years 1924 through 1968, and includes selected water quality data for the Rio Grande Basin in Mexico and New Mexico in order to give consideration to the influence of inflow from these two areas on quality characteristics of water available for use in Texas.' The annual reports of the IBWC2 and of the USGS3 prepared in cooperation with the state of Texas provided a substantial data base for water quality and water quantity management of this vital resource of the region. This paper addresses the present and future water quality problems in that portion of the Rio grand between El Paso and the Gulf of Mexico. |
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