The Rio Conchos: An Essential Ribbon of Life

Posted: 23-Jul-2003; Updated: 20-Sep-2004

The 26,400-square-mile Rio Conchos basin is one of the most important river systems in all of northern Mexico. From its headwaters high in the Sierra Madre Occidental, to its banks bordered by large irrigation districts in the central plains of Chihuahua, to its confluence with the Rio Grande just above the sister cities of Presidio, Texas, and Ojinaga, Chihuahua, the Conchos is an essential ribbon of life in an arid desert climate.

The Conchos supplies burgeoning municipal, industrial and agricultural water needs in Chihuahua. Along the way, it flows through spectacular canyons and provides a riparian habitat oasis for many species of birds and other wildlife. Once the Rio Conchos replenishes the Rio Grande, water is siphoned off to meet the same types of water demands in Texas and, farther east, in the Mexico border states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.

Water management in the Conchos basin is now at the heart of the on-going dispute between the United States and Mexico over Mexico's water delivery obligations under a 1944 Treaty with the U.S. A prolonged drought in northeastern Mexico, combined with unwise management decisions in the mid-1990s, has reduced stream flows and reservoir levels to historic lows. As a result, irrigated agriculture, which uses over 90% of the surface water in the Conchos basin, has been targeted for large water conservation investments,  in part to help Mexico meet its delivery obligations.

Environmental Defense is working with Mexican partners to identify opportunities for improving water management and restoring key portions of the Rio Conchos watershed. We are providing in-depth analysis to the public and key decision-makers in both countries, as the U.S. and Mexico continue negotiations over a more sustainable water management plan for the Rio Grande basin.

FIND OUT MORE

• Invasive, non-native salt cedar, which can consume huge amounts of water, has affected many parts of the Rio Grande.  Now, it is also becoming a problem in the Rio Conchos.  A recent analysis prepared for Environmental Defense by Humberto Lujan of Ojinaga, Chihuahua, shows how salt cedar is choking the river and invading farmlands in the lower Rio Conchos.  (The analysis is only available in Spanish at this time.)  Mr. Lujan is currently working with area farmers to find solutions to the salt cedar problem.  These efforts parallel our own work on the Forgotten River. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.)
• A new report by our partner BioDesert, AC (a Mexico-based conservation group) explores the feasibility of establishing a natural protected area in the Canon de Peguis, along the lower Rio Conchos in Chihuahua.  The study, available at this time only in Spanish, examines the environmental values of this beautiful, remote canyon and surrounding areas; the potential for ecotourism (rafting and hiking); and local community support for protection.(Adobe Acrobat Reader required.)
• The Ojinaga Valley: At the Confluence of the Lower Rio Conchos and the Rio Bravo (English executive summary, full report in Spanish)
• Agricultural Irrigation Conservation Projects Analysis (English executive summary, full report in Spanish)
• Discovering the Rio Conchos: May 2002 conference proceedings
• Preliminary report on Rio Conchos basin
• Binational Declaration on U.S./Mexico Water Negotiations
• International Boundary and Water Commission agreements regarding 1944 Water Treaty deliveries
• Click here to learn more about the Rio Grande.