By: Uresti S.C.R. No. 2
(Gallego)
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Amistad International Reservoir, situated on
the Texas-Mexico border near Del Rio, supplies water to numerous
area communities for municipal, industrial, and agricultural
purposes; yet, with a salt content near the upper limit of the Texas
standard for drinking water, the reservoir may become an unusable
resource for all; and
WHEREAS, Two of its main tributaries, the Rio Grande and the
Pecos River, are heavily saturated with salt due in part to the
composition of the surrounding land, which was once part of a great
inland sea; when dry land emerged, salt from the sea was trapped in
the soil and in underground aquifers; originating in New Mexico,
the Pecos River, in particular, is one of the most saline waterways
in North America and accounts for nearly 30 percent of the salt
loading of the reservoir; and
WHEREAS, The upper limit of Texas drinking water standards
for minerals including salt is 1,000 milligrams per liter; when
that limit is exceeded, municipalities that rely on water released
into the Rio Grande from the Amistad Reservoir will face costly
treatment methods to meet state standards; moreover, the elevated
levels of salt may force farmers to discontinue the growth of
certain crops; while fresh water inflow from runoff could help
alleviate the salinity, the potential for such runoff is limited;
and
WHEREAS, The Amistad International Reservoir is shared by
both the United States and Mexico, in accordance with the terms of a
1944 treaty; for that reason and because the reservoir's holdings
derive from multiple states, it is incumbent on the national
government to take the lead in addressing this urgent problem; and
WHEREAS, Congress began that process by enacting Section 729
of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, 33 U.S.C. Section
2267a, and by developing a program in Section 5056 of the Water
Resources Development Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-114, 121 Stat.
1041, 1213-1214 (2007), that directs the secretary of the army to
rehabilitate and enhance fish and wildlife habitat and to implement
long-term monitoring, data collection and analysis, applied
research, and adaptive management within the Rio Grande Basin; and
WHEREAS, Past studies must be evaluated to determine a
strategy for moving forward; in addition, it is imperative that
funding and continuing authority for Section 5056 of the Water
Resources Development Act of 2007, which is set to expire in 2011,
be reenacted so that efforts to solve the salt problem in the
reservoir can continue; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to reauthorize
the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, Section 5056, and to
appropriate sufficient funds to carry out work related to that
legislation; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, the
speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
senate of the United States Congress, and all the members of the
Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution
be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to
the Congress of the United States of America.