Each year, drains into the lower Colorado add 70,000 tons of fertilizers and 100,000 gallons of insecticides, Mexican authorities say. With lax controls, DDT still threatens humans and wildlife. The Defenders of Wildlife and other U.S. environmental groups have sued the American government under the Endangered Species Act, charging that miserly releases of water are destroying habitats. Diplomatic pressure is mounting. Mexican President Vicente Fox champions not only environmental protection, but also agricultural production in the delta.
Mexican farmers are desperate for more irrigation.
Uncontrolled pumping for farms and cities has dramatically lowered ancient water tables. Tijuana now soars above 1 million inhabitants. Mexicali and San Luis Rio Colorado add another million. He described an Eden alive with colorful birds of every size, deer, bobcats and coyotes. Today, in the baking heat, much of the Mexicali and San Luis valleys seem covered in permafrost, crusty white residue of a salty river on under-irrigated farmland.