Water Issues Force Border Officials To Cooperate

One issue that that continually brings Mexican and U.S. officials to the deliberation table is water.

Officials in Nogales, AZ, and Nogales, Sonora in Mexico, are one example. They share a water source: the Santa Cruz River.

“Officials from Sonora and Arizona say binational water cooperation is essential to their survival and growth. Both also acknowledge the relationship related to water and the issues involved,” Arizona Capitol Times reported.

Treatment is sometimes a binational issue, as well.

Miguel Pompa, Secretary of State for the Mexican state of Sonora noted that “local, state, and federal governments in Mexico are cooperating to create a first of its kind solar water treatment plant in Sonora. Water treatment on the Santa Cruz is done in the U.S.,” the report said.

“What we are currently doing — and it is working — is treating the residual water in Nogales and sending clean water into the U.S.,” added Esteban Martinez, a city councilman from Nogales, Sonora, per the report.

The Sonoran Institute works to promote cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico. CEO Stephanie Sklar noted that water is a critical part of that cooperation.

“There’s nowhere that we work that we are not dependent upon what is happening to a river or range of rivers that are providing sustenance to communities,” Sklar said, per the report.

Sewage is sometimes a binational issue, as well. For instance, a massive sewage spill in Mexico polluted the shores of Southern California in February. Officials on both sides of the border investigated the issue, Reuters reported.

A report released last week by the International Boundary and Water Commission found that “a series of breakdowns that began on New Year's Day in Tijuana were responsible” for the spill, according to Fox 5 San Diego.

“The report noted that strong rains began overwhelming Tijuana's aging water collection infrastructure as early as December,” the news report said.