Diapositiva 1

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INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION,
UNITED STATES AND MEXICO
Carlos Marin, United States Commissioner Presentat
ion to SCERP Border Institute IX September 24,
2007
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IBWC FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS

• Lower Rio Grande
• Presidio-Ojinaga Valley
• Rectification Project El Paso-Cd. Juarez
• Chamizal Project El Paso-Cd. Juarez
• Canalization Project Las Cruces-El Paso (USIBWC
  only)
• Colorado River near Yuma-Mexicali
• Tijuana River San Diego-Tijuana
• Binational flood workshops/exercises held
  annually to review and prepare for Rio Grande
  flood operations

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LOWER RIO GRANDE FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT

• Covers 180 river miles from Peñitas, TX to Gulf
• U.S. and Mexico upgraded flood protection after
  Hurricane Beulah flooding in 1967
• Both countries share flood risk and flood control
  project benefits
• Anzalduas Dam diverts water to U.S. floodway
• Retamal Dam diverts water to Mexican floodway

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Harlingen, Texas 1967
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ANZALDUAS DAM
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ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

• USIBWC has reduced floodway mowing in the Lower
  Rio Grande to help establish a wildlife corridor,
  per 1993 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  Biological Opinion
• Purchase of conservation easements underway to
  expand wildlife corridor
• Tree planting in Canalization Project
• EIS and stakeholder collaborative process
  underway in Canalization Project considers
  environmental enhancements and flood control
  improvements
• Draft Programmatic EIS for Rio Grande, Tijuana
  River projects released in Aug. 2007 Sept. 24
  deadline for comments

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FEMA CONSIDERATIONS

• FEMA is updating flood maps to determine
  mandatory flood insurance requirements
• FEMA requires certification that levees can
  withstand the 100-year flood with 3 feet of
  freeboard
• USIBWC has informed FEMA that it cannot certify
  levees in Doña Ana County, NM and El Paso,
  Hidalgo, and Cameron Counties, TX
• USIBWC levees constructed decades ago have
  deteriorated over time
• In some areas, levees not high enough to contain
  the design flood

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USIBWC LEVEE IMPROVEMENT PLAN

• Lower Rio Grande
• 125 M estimated cost
• El Paso County
• 20 M estimated cost
• Doña Ana County
• 20 M estimated cost

Rio Grande at El Paso, 8/1/06
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LEVEE IMPROVEMENT PLAN

• Coordination with Mexico
• Data sharing and cooperation on hydraulic
  modeling
• Each country required to maintain its own levee
  system to the agreed-upon design flood
• Joint Report of the Principal Engineers for
  improvements in the El Paso-Juarez area

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INTERNATIONAL STORAGE DAMS

• Amistad Dam, Del Rio, TX Cd. Acuña, Coah.
• Falcon Dam, Falcon Heights, TX Nueva Cd.
  Guerrero, Tamps.

Falcon Dam
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CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION

• Critical Infrastructure Protection Framework for
  Cooperation effort of U.S. and Mexico to
  conduct binational vulnerability assessments of
  trans-border infrastructure
• IBWC led Water and Dams Working Group
• IBWC compiled inventory of border water
  infrastructure and proposed security enhancements
• Additional risk assessments and security
  enhancements subject to availability of
  appropriations

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DAM SAFETY

• Routine dam safety inspection done in 2007
• Report found dams to be generally well-maintained
  and able to operate under normal conditions
• Amistad Dam
• DSAC II Urgent (potentially unsafe)
• Concerns about impact of naturally-occurring
  sinkholes
• Falcon Dam
• DSAC III High Priority (conditionally unsafe)
• Concern about foundation seepage

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DAM SAFETY

• Anzalduas Dam
• DSAC IV Priority (marginally safe)
• Report recommends that IBWC continue to update
  electrical and mechanical systems, remove
  sediment near the dam
• Retamal Dam
• DSAC III High Priority (conditionally unsafe)
• Concern about central gate oscillation during
  floods

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INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION,
UNITED STATES AND MEXICO
U.S. Section [phone] www.ibwc.state.gov