U.S. Water News Online
McALLEN, Texas -- The governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua has accused Texas Gov. Rick Perry of using the current U.S.-Mexico water treaty dispute for his own political ends.
Speaking on his weekly TV and radio show, ``Patricio With You,'' Patricio Martinez said that Texans needs a lesson in geography and hydrology and that drought-stricken Chihuahua has done its part to comply with international treaty obligations between the United States and Mexico.
``People are trying to make Chihuahua a scapegoat, and that's not fair,'' Martinez said. ``They do not need to be making such crude, threatening comments. We no longer have water, even for our own needs.''
Mexican officials have said they can't send the water they owe the United States because the drought is also hurting its farmers.
According to U.S. members of the International Boundary and Water Commission, Mexico is in arrears on a 1944 treaty sharing water from the Colorado River and owes 1.4 million acre feet of water -- some 456 billion gallons. Mexico says it is making its scheduled debt repayments and is in compliance.
According to The (McAllen) Monitor, Martinez said that before criticizing others, Perry should look at problems in his own state, particularly the need for improved irrigation systems to conserve water.
He said that since the 1944 treaty was signed, the entire Rio Grande basin had grown from a population of 2.5 million to more than 25 million, and that his people are now consuming considerably less water than before.
Perry was unavailable for comment, but Rio Grande Valley growers and irrigation district managers were quick to denounce Martinez's comments.
``Talk about the pot calling the kettle black,'' Gordon Hill, general manager of Bayview Irrigation District, told The Monitor. ``Gov. Perry has been working on this issue since he got into office. If anybody is using the water issue as a stepping stone for political advantage it is Governor Martinez. He wants to run for president.''
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