Study: 5 of 6 dams along Rio Grande are deficient
A five-year safety study of dams along the U.S.-Mexico border done at the behest of the International Boundary and Water Commission has revealed disturbing conditions.
“The safety inspection yielded urgent and high-priority deficiencies at five of the six dams,” reads a section of the Department of State’s 2018 Congressional Budget Justification report, which singled out Amistad Dam in Val Verde County for special comments.
The report also notes that again this year no money is allotted to the IBWC to repair the defective dams. The safety study was done by the “Joint Technical Advisors, which includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”
The IBWC is a binational agency that deals with treaty and water issues involving United States and Mexico, including boundary demarcation, water quality, flood control on the border and national ownership of waters.
It also oversees the Morelos Dam on the Colorado River in California and five dams on the Rio Grande, from Retamal Dam east of McAllen to the American Dam in El Paso. Among them are Amistad and Falcon Dams, which create large binational water reservoirs.
But exactly which dams have what problems remains largely unknown. Nor is it clear if any pose a public safety risk.
Citing security and agency confidentiality reasons, an IWBC official declined to make the safety report available or allow a reporter to speak to an engineer about the dams. The agency has also refused to release the safety report and related documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.
The five Texas congressmen whose districts include the Rio Grande also did not respond to email requests by the San Antonio Express-News for comment on the safety report.
The congressional report also notes problems with the American Dam and American Canal, which provide drinking water for El Paso.
“It is in very poor condition and requires replacing before it collapses,” reads the report, apparently referring to the canal.