The Río Grande–Río Bravo Basin: Water Cultures and Water Systems in a Fragile Eco‐Zone

Abstract

There is an environmental crisis now facing the inhabitants of the Río Grande—Río Bravo Basin which lies along the border between the south of New Mexico and the west of Texas in the U.S., and Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas in northern Mexico. This essay examines social, cultural and technological aspects of a water system that had for a long time provided a sustainable living environment in the Basin. We now have a collection of rich information on water rights, irrigation systems, and forms of social organization that emerged with the irrigation systems and on acequia culture that includes festivities and celebrations that tie into the irrigation calendar. A key aspect of the system was that water was a community, not private possession, an arrangement that endured for a longer time on the U.S. rather than the Mexican side of the border. The 20th century saw the destruction of the irrigation‐based agricultural system, resulting in today's environmental crisis. The author calls for a return to a sound and sustainable water management system for this fragile border region.