Giovanni Piccinni

Data collection for cooperative water resources modeling in the Lower Rio Grande Basin, Fort Quitman to the Gulf of Mexico.

Water resource scarcity around the world is driving the need for the development of simulation models that can assist in water resources management. Transboundary water resources are receiving special attention because of the potential for conflict over scarce shared water resources. The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo along the U.S./Mexican border is an example of a scarce, transboundary water resource over which conflict has already begun. The data collection and modeling effort described in this report aims at developing methods for international collaboration, data collection, data integration and modeling for simulating geographically large and diverse international watersheds, with a special focus on the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. This report describes the basin, and the data collected. This data collection effort was spatially aggregated across five reaches consisting of Fort Quitman to Presidio, the Rio Conchos, Presidio to Amistad Dam, Amistad Dam to Falcon Dam, and Falcon Dam to the Gulf of Mexico. This report represents a nine-month effort made in FY04, during which time the model was not completed.

Rio Grande Basin Water Conservation Project

The Rio Grande is 3,057 Km long with water sources from the Rocky Mountain snowmelt, the Rio Conchos in Mexico and the Pecos River in Texas. It serves as the only major source of surface water for two U.S. and five Mexican states, and supports 5 million people. The Lower Rio Grande Valley is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the U.S., generating roughly

Remote sensing of biotic and abiotic stress for irrigation management of cotton

500 million of annual growth sales and accounting for approximately 85 percent of the region’s water use. However, the population in the Basin is expected to double in the next 50 years causing doubled municipal water demands and serious agricultural impacts. The Treaty of 1906 distributed the water between Mexico and the U.S., giving 74 million m per year to Mexico, while the Treaty of 1944 divided the waters of the Lower Rio Grande and the Colorado River and stated the U.S. should receive 432 million m of water per year from Mexico over 5 year cycles. However, between 1992 and 2002, only half of the required water was delivered. The water debt grew and Mexico currently owes 81.9 million m. The future of irrigated agriculture in the Rio Grande Valley is facing many challenges. The Rio Grande Basin Initiative is focused on helping solve these rising problems by implementing the following nine task groups: Irrigation District Studies; Irrigation Education and Training; Institutional Incentives for Efficient Water Use; On-Farm Irrigation System Management; Urban Water Conservation; Environment, Ecology and Water Quality Protection; Saline and Wastewater Management and Reuse; Basinwide Hydrology, Salinity Modeling and Technology; and Communications and Accountability. This presentation discusses the concerted results and outcomes from these tasks.