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Management of transboundary aquifers is a vexing water resources challenge, especially when the aquifers are overexploited. The Hueco Bolson aquifer, which is bisected by the United States–Mexico border and where pumping far exceeds recharge, is an apt example. We conducted a binational, multisector, serious games workshop to explore collaborative solutions for extending the life of the shared aquifer. The value of the serious game workshop was building knowledge, interest, understanding, and constituency among critical stakeholders from both sides of the border. Participants also learned about negotiations and group decision-making while building mutual respect and trust. We did not achieve consensus, but a number of major outcomes emerged, including: (1) participants agreed that action is called for and that completely depleting the freshwater in the shared aquifer could be catastrophic to the region; (2) addressing depletion and prolonging the life of the aquifer will require binational action, because actions on only one side of the border is not enough; and (3) informal binational cooperation will be required to be successful. Agreeing that binational action is called for, the serious games intervention was an important next step toward improving management of this crucial binational resource.

Changes in land use patterns at expanding border cities along the U.S.‐Mexico transboundary area have severe impacts on runoff coefficients and flood risk management. Severe rain is the most representative type of precipitation in the Paso del Norte (PdN) region (New Mexico and Texas in the United States and Chihuahua in Mexico), characterized by high intensity, low duration, and high volumes of rain falling in localized, small areas. Rains generate flooding and damage to urban infrastructure, putting at risk people and properties along the arroyos, which lack hydraulic design to control overflowing. While using a Geographic Information System (GIS), we applied the Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC‐HMS) to model streamflow at the study site while building the hydrologic domain using ArcGIS with the Flow Area extension. Flood risk analysis was generated to evaluate potential sites for establishment of Green Infrastructure (GI) as a means of reducing risk and induce recharge to local aquifers. A hydrologic model was created using HEC‐HMS under GIS tools and later using Flood Area® hydrologic software to evaluate flood risk analysis. For small‐scale watersheds (< 10 km2) runoff can be greatly reduced by using and developing an urban hydrology approach. Furthermore, using GI and applying an urban hydrology approach can generate synergistic benefits by reducing flood risk, enhancing recharge to aquifer formations, weakening urban heat islands, improving habitat for regional species, and generating a common site for social interaction between neighbors. Binational agencies have adapted a new policy to address and promote the generation of such sites while academia, local government, and Non‐Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have taken up the challenge of promoting joint collaboration leading to local solutions to the ancient problem of flood risk.

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