Posted on 06/08/2005 4:59:28 PM PDT by nuke rocketeer
Some western parts of the Rio Grande are nearly dry and U.S. officials blame it on Mexican farmers diverting water for irrigation. Water flow from Presidio to El Paso has nearly stopped, and water officials claim that a makeshift earthen dam about 50 miles upriver from Presidio is the cause. Ken Rakestraw, chief of water accounting with the International Boundary and Water Commission in El Paso, said that very little water is flowing on that segment of the river. "They (Mexican farmers) pushed dirt across the river near Candelaria and there is very little water coming down right now," he said Tuesday afternoon. "We are not sure when it happened, but we started seeing that this morning." Candelaria is a little town on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, across from the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Rakestraw said that IBWC officials are talking with Mexican officials to reach a solution. "The river is also very low all the way from El Paso to the Big Bend National Park area," he said. "It?s an area of concern for us." Carlos Rubinstein, the Rio Grande Valley watermaster, said water flow has slowed to a trickle between Redford and the ghost town of Lajitas. "Water has been diverted at a point known as El Mulato," he said, "and some of that water belongs to the United States." Although it?s too early to tell what impact the reduced water flow could have on Falcon and Amistad dams ? the watersheds for the Rio Valley, Rubinstein said there are two issues to address. One is that the river has gone dry in some parts of its natural course, and the other is that some of the water being diverted into Mexico is owned by the United States. The water-sharing issue has been a source of diplomatic and economic friction between the two countries, particularly since Mexico has refused to fully abide by the terms of a 1944 water treaty, officials said. The Texas Department of Agriculture estimates that Mexico owes 1.4 million acre-feet of water to the United States and the water debt has caused an estimated $1 billion in losses to the Valley economy during the past 10 years. An acre-foot would cover an acre of land under one foot of water. Gordon Hill, general manager with the Bayview Irrigation District No. 11, said Mexico is blatantly stealing water that belongs to U.S. farmers. He said he contacted some U.S. officials to inform them about the latest development. "We are not going to sit back and let them do that to us," Hill said. "It?s ridiculous." He also said that Mexican farmers began illegally pumping water from the Rio Grande on Friday, but they had to stop because the river level was dropping considerably. Rubinstein confirmed that development. "It takes seven days for water to come down from the dams, but once it got down here it was stolen," Hill said. "If we have no water to pump, our farmers will get no water for irrigation. What the hell are they going to do?"
I saw this article on a Texas fishing website.
Sorry about the formatting...It did not copy and paste too well.
Mexico owns the White House.
Since when does Mexico obey any law they don't feel like obeying? Why are we surprised? They view the US with contempt, as do Middle Eastern Muslim terrorists...because we bend over backwards to accomodate them. PC nonsense, and especially dangerous when you're dealing with people driven by testosterone, poverty, envy, and little or no education.
And all your brain cells have been abducted by aliens.
LVM
Then you explain why Mexico/Mexicans can do anything they want to and in the US and nothing is ever done to stop it?
And all your brain cells have been abducted by aliens.
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I wish they had -- please prove me wrong.
Treaties? We don't need no stinkin treaties.
Three words: act of war!
Copy and paste usually doesn't work well when posting.
Learn about <p> - the paragraph is our friend :)
"Water flow from Presidio to El Paso has nearly stopped, and water officials claim that a makeshift earthen dam about 50 miles upriver from Presidio is the cause."
Alfred Nobel gave us the solution: dynamite!
Add some punitive redirection of water to the U.S. for good measure, and back it up with some small artillery.
Keep the water and send back the illegals.
I say play some hard ball.
Until the water stops being diverted stop all shipments of mexican produce to the US.
They can grow it but not sell it to the biggest customer anymore...let them eat it themselves :-)
I can't.
I don't have enough tin foil.
LVM
That would be a knockout punch! Our eunuchized President couldn't do that to his best friend.
Well, then we should expect Georgia and Alabama to start shooting at each other soon anytime soon.
Texas is blessed in many ways, but its biggest curse is having Mexico as a neighbor. Think of what a wonderful life it would be if it were Switzerland instead!
I don't have enough tin foil.
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We will see who is right...so far, I am. :-)
GA and AL have a common constitution. TX and MX do not:)
You're reaching.
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