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DEVELOPMENT OF A BI-NATIONAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT MODEL TO PROVIDE FOR A SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY WITHIN THE EL PASO / CIUDAD JUAREZ REGION
Description:
The El Paso/Juarez region is the largest metropolitan area along the United States /Mexico border. The area is in need of a long-term water management plan to include groundwater and surface water, due to the scarcity of fresh groundwater and because it has a population growth higher than the U.S./ Mexico and World population growth rates.
The Hueco and Mesilla Bolsons are the main aquifers and the primary water source for municipal and industrial uses. The City of Juarez in Mexico relies on groundwater for almost one hundred percent of its water needs, while the City of El Paso, Texas relies on groundwater for as much as sixty percent of its water needs. Even though groundwater is the most important source of water for the region, bi-national water management along the United States/Mexico border is focused on surface water and not on groundwater. There are no formal local and/or international agreements with regard to how groundwater should be managed. Current regional planning efforts lack a global water management approach, and social, political, and legal issues have only been addressed marginally.
The purpose of the proposed study is to develop a bi-national groundwater management model that enables the El Paso/Juarez region to consider a strategic planning approach that will include existing hydro-geological, legal, social, economical and political studies, along with new bi-national agreements that describe limitations and recommend new initiatives. Additional similar, bi-national environmental issues could also be modeled after the proposed bi-national groundwater management model. This project will require close coordination with the El Paso Water Utilities as well as the City of Juarez Water Utility