Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner of the International Boundary and Water Commission: Sharing Water on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Amistad Dam on the Rio Grande is one of the IBWC’s largest facilities.
T
he United States and Mexico share nearly 2,000 miles of border, more than 1,200 miles of which runs along the Rio Grande. Further west, the Colorado River crosses the border and flows into the Sea of Cortez. The border, and water deliveries across and along it, are governed by numerous treaties as well as subsequent agreements, or minutes, that clarify them. The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), which has both U.S. and Mexican sections, is the entity charged with applying those boundary and water treaties and settling disputes that arise in their application. In this interview, we speak with U.S. Section Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner about the commission’s work, including its river maintenance and sediment removal activities, and the challenges posed by drought in the Rio Grande and Colorado River basins.
University of Texas at Austin. I’ve worked for 25 years along the U.S.-Mexico border. For 20 years, I served as general manager of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, which was created out of the North American Free Trade Agreement and is now part of the North American Development Bank. During that time, I led the development and financing of $9 million in environmental infrastructure, benefitting more than 100 communities and 15 million residents on both sides of the border. I worked to bring many of those communities wastewater service and, in some cases, water service for the first time. I also helped bring renewable energy to the region.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
Commissioner Giner: The IBWC is responsible for applying the boundary and water treaties between the two countries and settling differences that arise in their application. The U.S. Section of the IBWC is headquartered in El Paso. The Mexican section, headquartered in Ciudad Juarez, is led by my counterpart, also a woman, Commissioner
18 | IRRIGATION LEADER | March 2022
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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE IBWC.
Commissioner Giner: I’m a civil engineer. I also have an MBA from the University of Texas at El Paso, and I recently obtained my PhD in public policy from the
Irrigation Leader: Please introduce the IBWC.
