Interbasin Water Transfers After NAFTA

This briefing discusses the risk of diverting Canada's fresh water resources to the southwestern United States and Mexico due to increasing water scarcity and the influence of trade agreements like NAFTA and the 1988 FTA, which may limit Canada's ability to restrict water exports.

• Water scarcity in the southwestern United States and Mexico, exacerbated by development and the drought of the 1980s, has led to a revival of 1960s-era proposals for continent-wide interbasin water transfers from Canada.
• The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the 1988 U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are viewed as catalysts for these projects because they effectively stop Canada and its provinces from restricting water exports, encouraging developers and agribusiness to pursue a continental water system.
• Commercial interests are lobbying policymakers to treat water as a commodity rather than an ecological resource, leading to concerns that the ecological role of water will be sacrificed for unsustainable growth in arid regions.

APA

Orbuch, H. (1993). Interbasin Water Transfers After NAFTA. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/reports/nterbasin-water-transfers-after-nafta-1993-hunter-orbuch-te93-6-2/

Chicago

Orbuch, Hunter. Interbasin Water Transfers After NAFTA. Center for International Environmental Law, 1993. https://www.ciel.org/reports/nterbasin-water-transfers-after-nafta-1993-hunter-orbuch-te93-6-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Orbuch |first1=Hunter |title=Interbasin Water Transfers After NAFTA |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=1 January 1993 |url=https://www.ciel.org/reports/nterbasin-water-transfers-after-nafta-1993-hunter-orbuch-te93-6-2/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{orbuch1993interbasin, author = {Orbuch, Hunter}, title = {{Interbasin Water Transfers After NAFTA}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {1993}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/reports/nterbasin-water-transfers-after-nafta-1993-hunter-orbuch-te93-6-2/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }