SHEDDINGTHE WATER SHEDDING INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE AND WATER CONTROL I N T H E THE LERMA-CHAPALA BASIN, MEXICO PHILIPPUS WATERS WESTER S PHILI pp U S WE S TER PROPOSITIONS 1. As hydrocracies engage in their institutional reproduction through the articulation of water reforms they will resist reforms that are perceived to weaken their position. (this thesis) 2. The continued decline of groundwater levels in the state of Guanajuato is the result of a political will that is largely informed by the voice of money and not due to the “lack of political will”. (this thesis) 3. The hydraulic mission has a long pedigree, as brought out by an edict of emperor Wu Ti published in 111 BC, which stated that as agriculture is the basic occupation in the world and springs and rivers make possible the cultivation of the five grains, the government must cut canals and ditches, drain rivers and build dikes and water tanks to prevent drought. Quoted in Chi (1936) Key Economic Areas in Chinese History As Revealed in the Development of Public Works for Water-Control. 4. The common ground needed for “getting past no” can be created by broadening definitions and recasting agendas to include something of everything. However, the resolution of a conflict always involves making a choice. 5. To understand policy processes it is illuminating if the word policy making is taken literally and the definition of policy makers is widened to cover all the policy actors involved in making or breaking a policy. 6. When managers and politicians emphasize that something is not the case, for example that proposed changes are not a cost cutting measure, they usually mean the opposite. 7. Freedom of thought is the highest good, especially when you have stopped thinking. 8. As Gustave Flaubert once said about writing history, writing a thesis is like drinking an ocean to produce a cupful. Propositions attached to the thesis: Shedding the Waters: Institutional Change and Water Control in the Lerma-Chapala Basin, Mexico Philippus Wester Wageningen University, 19 March 2008 SHEDDING THE WATERS Institutional Change and Water Control in the Lerma- Chapala Basin, Mexico Promotor: Prof. Dr. Linden F. Vincent, hoogleraar in de Irrigatie en waterbouwkunde, Wageningen Universiteit Co-promotor: Dr. Luis Gabriel Torres, research professor and director CIESAS-Occidente, Guadalajara, Mexico Samenstelling promotiecommissie: Prof. Dr. Ir. Katrien J.A.M. Termeer, Wageningen Universiteit Dr. Douglas J. Merrey, FANRPAN, Pretoria Prof. Dr. Ir. Pieter van der Zaag, UNESCO-IHE, Delft Dr. François Molle, IRD, Montpellier Dit onderzoek is uitgevoerd binnen de onderzoeksschool CERES SHEDDING THE WATERS Institutional Change and Water Control in the Lerma- Chapala Basin, Mexico Philippus Wester Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor op gezag van de rector magnificus van Wageningen Universiteit Prof. dr. M.J. Kropff in het openbaar te verdedigen op woensdag 19 maart 2008 des namiddags te vier uur in de Aula Shedding the waters: Institutional change and water control in the Lerma-Chapala Basin, Mexico. Philippus Wester, 2008, p. xvi + 296. ISBN 978-90-8504-899-2 Contents CONTENTS V LIST OF FIGURES VIII LIST OF TABLES VIII ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS IX PHOTO CREDITS XI ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XIII 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 Introducing the Lerma-Chapala Basin 3 1.3 Water Reforms, River Basins and Hydrocracies 7 The hydraulic mission, hydrocracies and river basin closure 8 Water reforms and decentralization 11 Water allocation and river basin politics 14 1.4 Problem Statement and Research Question 17 Focus of the study 18 1.5 Analyzing Hydrocracies and Water Reforms 19 Water control 19 Modes of ordering 20 Policy articulation 22 Domains of water governance 24 1.6 Research Methodology 25 1.7 Structure of the Thesis 28 2 CAPTURING THE WATERS: THE HYDRAULIC MISSION IN THE LERMA-CHAPALA BASIN 31 2.1 Introduction 32 2.2 Towards Federal Water Control: The Birth of the Hydraulic Mission 33 Towards the federalization of water allocation and development 34 Land reclamation projects in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 36 2.3 The Rise of the Hydraulic Mission: From Oligarchic to Revolutionary Irrigation 43 Recovering from the Revolution 43 The Comisión Nacional de Irrigación in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 47 2.4 River Basin Development and the Secretaría de Recursos Hidráulicos 53 The Lerma-Chapala-Santiago Study Commission 55 The first Lake Chapala crisis (1945-1958) 58 2.5 Conclusions 62 3 THINGS FALL APART: TOWARDS REFORMS IN THE CONFUSION YEARS 63 3.1 Introduction 64 3.2 The Overriding Concerns of the Hydrocracy 67 Control over the irrigation districts 67 Financial autonomy 69 Bureaucratic autonomy and culture 70 3.3 The Fusion: Political and Bureaucratic Entanglements 72 3.4 The Emergence of Policy Ideas during the Confusion Years 76 Enter the water resource planners 76 The emergence of the IMT policy idea 79 3.5 Towards a Reform Package: The 1988 Election Campaign 83 The policy actors 83 The election campaign and the consolidation of the reform package 86 Arm twisting and impositions 89 3.6 Conclusions 91 4 THE PRACTICES AND POLITICS OF MAKING POLICY: THE CASE OF IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT TRANSFER IN MEXICO 93 Abstract 93 4.1 Introduction 94 4.2 Perspectives on Policy Processes 96 4.3 Policy Episode One: Emergence of the IMT Policy Idea 98 4.4 Policy Episode Two: Assemblage and Standardization of the Policy Package 102 Assembling the policy package 103 The slow track 104 4.5 Policy Episode Three: Promotion and Acceleration 106 Accelerating into the fast track 106 The diagnosticos 108 Selective inclusion in transfer negotiations 110 Distribution of resources 111 Promotion of the transfer policy 112 4.6 Discussion and Conclusions 113 5 BENDING THE CURVE DOWN? TOWARDS DECENTRALIZED WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE LERMA-CHAPALA BASIN 115 5.1 Introduction 116 5.2 The Second Lake Chapala Crisis 117 5.3 The Rise of the Lerma-Chapala River Basin Council 121 Building momentum for reform: the reconstitution of the hydrocracy 122 From Commissions to Councils: river basin management revisited 124 Concluding remarks 132 5.4 Reordering Irrigation Management 133 Irrigation management transfer and domains of water governance 134 The diversity of IMT in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 136 Concluding remarks 144 5.5 Running Aground: The Lerma-Chapala Basin from 1995 to 2000 145 Changing contexts 145 Developments in the Lerma-Chapala Basin from 1995 to 2000 147 vi 5.6 Conclusions 151 6 BOUNDARIES OF CONSENT: STAKEHOLDER REPRESENTATION IN RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT IN MEXICO AND SOUTH AFRICA 153 Abstract 153 6.1 Introduction 154 6.2 River Basin Management in Mexico and South Africa 157 (a) Mexico: the Lerma-Chapala Basin 158 (b) South Africa: the Olifants Basin 164 6.3 Discussion 169 6.4 Conclusions 170 7 WHEN THE PUMPS RUN DRY: ARRESTING GROUNDWATER DEPLETION IN GUANAJUATO 173 7.1 Introduction 174 7.2 Groundwater Development and Regulation in Guanajuato 178 The development of groundwater irrigation in Guanajuato 178 State attempts to regulate groundwater extractions 181 Electricity subsidies and groundwater demand management 184 Groundwater irrigation modernization programs 185 7.3 Towards User Self-Regulation for Groundwater Management 187 Early attempts at user self-regulation 188 The first COTAS in Guanajuato 189 CEASG steps in 193 The CNA strikes back 197 Concluding remarks 198 7.4 Tackling Powerful Pumpers: The Politics of Groundwater in Guanajuato 199 From user self-regulation to service windows 199 Powerful pumpers: commercial farmers, cities and industries 201 Electricity pricing and groundwater concession titles 203 Moving towards groundwater districts 204 7.5 Conclusions 205 8 COMING FULL CIRCLE: THE POLITICS OF SURFACE WATER ALLOCATION IN THE LERMA-CHAPALA BASIN 209 8.1 Introduction 210 8.2 Water Transfers and Farmer Initiatives to Save Water 212 Water transfers from irrigation districts to Lake Chapala 212 Farmer initiatives to save water: the GTEPAI experience 218 Concluding remarks 222 8.3 Reaching an Agreement on Surface Water Allocations 223 A new master plan for the Basin: ecological restoration and new dams 223 Arriving at a Política Óptima Conjunta: renegotiating water allocations 227 8.4 Conclusions 232 9 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 235 9.1 Hydrosocial Interactions in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 236 9.2 The Articulation of Water Reforms 240 9.3 Reflections on River Basin Politics 243 vii REFERENCES 247 ANNEX A: LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 269 ANNEX B. WATER MANAGEMENT STAKEHOLDERS IN THE LERMA-CHAPALA BASIN 273 SUMMARY 279 RESUMEN 283 SAMENVATTING 289 CURRICULUM VITAE 295 List of Figures Figure 1.1. States, regions and rivers in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 4 Figure 1.2. River basin closure 9 Figure 2.1. Original state of Lake Chapala and the courses of the Ríos Lerma and Duero 40 Figure 2.2. Map of Lake Chapala and the Ciénega de Chapala after embankment 41 Figure 2.3. Main dams and irrigation districts in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 48 Figure 5.1. Lake Chapala storage volumes and inflows from 1934 to 2001 118 Figure 5.2. Lake Chapala – Guadalajara Aqueducts 120 Figure 5.3. Surface water allocated and used in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 131 Figure 5.4. Irrigation districts in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 137 Figure 6.1. Map of the Lerma-Chapala Basin 159 Figure 6.2. Structure of the Lerma-Chapala River Basin Council 162 Figure 6.3. Map of the Olifants Basin 165 Figure 6.4. Proposed Structure of the Olifants Catchment Management Agency 167 Figure 7.1 Areas of intensive groundwater use in Guanajuato 175 Figure 8.1. Lake Chapala volumes from 1988 to 2007 217 List of Tables Table 2.1. Main hydraulic interventions in Lake Chapala from 1945 to 1958 58 Table 5.1. Overview of key water indicators in the Lerma-Chapala Basin 118 Table 5.2.