Water supply and demand in the lower Rio Bravo/Rio Grande basin: The irrigated agriculture scenario

Abstract

Conventional management of water resources cannot sustain development in the lower Rio Bravo/Rio Grande watershed. Long-term projections of water supply and demand provide information to plan for the sustainable management of water resources. Four scenarios were studied to project water availability and supply on the Mexican side of the Lower Rio Bravo/Rio Grande watershed: (i) water development of the Conchos River, (ii) drought spells on record, (iii) normal hydrological conditions, and (iv) the simultaneous presence of (i) and (ii). The size of agricultural lands could become more variable, with loss of irrigated agriculture in district 025 of the Mexican lower Rio Bravo/Rio Grande, due to increasing water demand from domestic, industrial, commercial, and municipal sectors in the municipalities bordering the Rio Bravo/Rio Grande, magnified by drought and the development of water demand of the Conchos river.