Border Institute IV Binational Water Management Planning Consideration of Opportunities, Costs, Benefits, and Unintended Consequences: Secure and Sustainable Water in the Border Region by 2020 Rick Van Schoik Rio Rico, Arizona May 6-8, 2002

“Imagination is more important than Knowledge.”

“ I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and constitutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind...with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.” —Thomas Jefferson

Planetary Geological Global Influences Region Drought Cycles Tribes, State, Federal & Int’l Institutions Our Focus = the Global -Regional Interface (Temporal Scale) (Spatial Scale) Now Here US Questions of Scale This Watershed This Spring Local Mgmt. From the Local and the Immediate......To the Regional and Cyclical...

Critical Trends Population growth Economic asymmetry Technological change Decentralization Deregulation Equity Resource depletion Global change Globalization Privatization Rise of NGOs

Sustainability? Equity EnvironmentEconomy What is “Sustainability?” Environmental Deterioration in Poor Areas Drastic economic inequities Low Quality of Life

Sustainability Equity EnvironmentEconomy Sustainability Quality of the Commons Quality of Growth Quality of Life (Conservation / Preservation) (Business Entrepreneurship) (Community Empowerment)

“Hard” Sciences Life Sciences Human Sciences Management Science What is “Sustainability Science?” Sustainability Science

Integrating Willingness, Capacity, and Understanding Willingness Willing and able but ignorant Capacity Understanding Willing and wise but unable Wise and able but unwilling Decision- making for sustainability

Influence Knowledge Policy-making

Environmental “Reality” Futures OptimistPessimist Optimist OKDisaster Pessimist Expensive hedging OK Worldview

An Example PHX LA SD TJ

Major Flows, Diversions, and Returns, Lower Colorado River System

Institutional Mandates ChallengeInstitution Meandering riverIBWC/CILA Surface water alloc.IBWC/CILA Environmental quality BECC/NADB/CEC Groundwater? State-State?

International Joint Commission 1909 Boundary Water Treaty Project approval authority Transboundary impact assessment Water quality implementation Air quality, toxics, etc.

U.S.Mexico Potable Raw Brackish Tertiary Secondary Primary Sewage Seawater Potable Raw Brackish Tertiary Secondary Primary Sewage Seawater Eco-systems services Agriculture Fire-fighting Groundwater recharge Power plant cooling Water Quality Availabilities Transborder Intervention Potential Water Exchanges

U.S. Mexico Transborder Intervention WastewaterLagoon treatmt. Riparian rechge. InfrastructureWheeling Municipal WastewaterBinat’l WWTP Wastewater FloodsBinat’l storage Excess srfc. flow MunicipalFallow Agriculture TransferBinat’l aqueduct Transfer

“A diversity of connections is part of the package.” — Commissioner Arturo Herrera Solís

Conceptualizing Binational Water Planning... 1) Plumbing Sourcing Transfers Storage Security Use Reuse Treatment Disposal

Quality 2) Necessary Considerations Interdependencies, Energy, Ecosystems Database, Knowledge Sharing, Monitoring, Indicators

3) Institutional Framework Governance Capacity Equitable Access Water for Poor Finance Municipal vs. Industrial Agriculture vs. Environment 4) Equity

Brainstorming Binational Water Planning Problems / Challenges Objectives/ Proposed Solutions Incentives/ Implementation/ Demonstrations Existing Framework Unintended Consequences