Texas A&M AgriLife Publishes Map of Transboundary Aquifers between Mexico and the United States
Source: https://transboundariness.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Transboundary-Aquifers-Challenges-and-the-way-forward-UNESCO-Rosario-Sánchez.pdf
A team of researchers, led by Rosario Sanchez Ph.D., senior research scientist at the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) part of Texas A&M AgriLife, has published the first-ever comprehensive map of transboundary aquifers between the United States and Mexico.
The map reveals five shared aquifers between Baja California and California, 26 between Sonora and Arizona, and 33 between Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Out of the 72 aquifers, 45% were found to be in "good to moderate" condition.
The research is particularly important since surface water supplies in the region are facing mounting pressure from climate change, drought, and population growth. As a result, shared groundwater resources are gaining more attention from legal and governmental bodies. Unfortunately, transboundary groundwater has largely been ignored at the binational level, with few funding opportunities for further research. Consequently, researchers and policymakers have limited knowledge about groundwater supplies along the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to Dr. Sanchez, the next stage would involve evaluating the quantity and quality of water present in the aquifers. Following this, local and regional stakeholders can collaborate to develop approaches that are mutually beneficial for the shared groundwater resources.
