A BI-NATIONAL APPROACH TO EDUCATION AND RESEARCH: AN ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER RESOURCES IN THE SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE REGION, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO

Four professors and ten students from the University of Guanajuato (UG) and Colima University partook in workshops at Texas A&M University (TAMU) focusing on methodologies and technology to study surface and groundwater. After the workshops, two professors, four graduate students from TAMU, and two professors, ten students from UG collected water-level and chemistry data from wells, interaction between rivers and aquifer via geophysical techniques, and watershed and channel characteristics in the San Miguel de Allende region.

A rapidly growing population, agriculture and industry are driving a sharp drawdown of ~4 m yr^-1 for some wells; average drawdown is ~1 m yr^-1. Precipitation ranges from <400 mm on the plains to >800 mm at higher elevations. Calculated ETR is ~518 mm yr^-1 suggesting little vertical recharge in the plains where most wells are located.

The Laja River is gravel bedded in some locations and sand-bedded in other locations with erodible banks. Four terraces suggest an actively down-cutting channel. Anthropogenic activity apparent all along the river has significant effects on the water quality and quantity. The aquifer is unsustainable if excess exploitation persists.

Students from two cultures worked together in field teams improving skills in critical thinking, cross-cultural communication and collaboration via basic and applied field-based research. Besides the educational component of the workshop, bringing together of faculty and students from two countries facilitated a sharing of cultures.