According to Ken Rakestraw, chief of water accounting at the IBWC, there is little that can be done about the Conchos. In the past five years it has fallen short because of the drought. Short is an understatement. The average flow on the Conchos is more than a million acre-feet per year. And because it is a Mexican river, there is only so much that American interests can do about it.
Every drop belongs to somebody.
Between the agricultural interests and the cities, there is no water left for the river. That, according to Harris, creates a circular problem. There is no channel because there is no water. And with no water, the channel continues to become aggraded. Fifty-five percent of the water the U.S. owns goes to the Elephant Butte Irrigation District in New Mexico, and 45 percent goes to the Texas interests, which include El Paso.