MEXICO: Wild River

Mexicans call the Rio Grande the Río Bravo (Wild River). Last week border citizens heard that the Río Bravo may be tamed and put to use; the U.S. and Mexican Governments have signed (but not yet ratified) a treaty under which the two countries will put up some $25,000,000 each for a series of dams to control and store the river’s waters for irrigation.

The 1,300-mile international section of the river between El Paso and Brownsville is sometimes only a chain of puddles, sometimes a roaring flood which pours precious water into the Gulf. If this excess water could be used for irrigation throughout the year, it would add perhaps a million acres of rich agricultural land to both the U.S. and Mexico, bring to reality a project long discussed by both.

The deep, narrow canyons of the Big Bend section above the Rio Grande’s junction with the Pecos River are ideal for a storage dam. Other dams would be needed farther down. Farmers and other users of water on both sides of the border will eventually pay back the construction cost; power companies are expected to pay 30% of it. If started just after the war, the project would be a regional cushion against a postwar slump.