WATER SECURITYAs the Rio Grande Runs Dry, South Texas Leaders Look to New Water Supplies to Sustain Growth
The tension between water supply and demand has been an issue for decades. And now, city and county leaders throughout the Valley believe the problem has come to a head.
More than 100 years ago, developers lured farmers to the Rio Grande Valley by marketing the “Magic Valley,” a tropical place of plentiful water where crops grow year-round.
The veracity of that marketing was questionable.
For one, the state’s most southern region is not a valley, but a delta. Secondly, periodic drought affected the area even then.
Regardless, farmers came from all over the country, developing the area into one of the largest producers of citrus in the country. Farmers also grew various vegetables, sugarcane and cotton, utilizing the water from the Rio Grande, one of the nation’s most iconic rivers.
Cities such as McAllen, Mission and Weslaco sprang up, using the irrigation water to carry the municipal water to their treatment facilities, increasing demand on the river, even when drought existed.
The tension between water supply and demand has been an issue for decades. And now, city and county leaders throughout the Valley believe the problem has come to a head. Water levels at the two international reservoirs that store the river water supply for South Texas reached record lows last year, and water levels continue to hover around 20%.
At the same time the Rio Grande runs dry, the South Texas population is rapidly increasing. Officials wary of slowing growth are seeking alternative water supplies, including groundwater and new ways to recycle water. But those take time, and if solutions aren’t found fast, the region’s growth and economic prosperity could be stunted.
“When we talk about the needs for water, they’re real needs and we do have a problem,” said Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez. “I think that we all want to solve the problem and do the best that we can with the situation, and I see a lot of us working together to try to reach that balance between the needs of municipalities and the needs of agriculture.”
South Texas’ water struggles mirror much of the state. Texas’ water supply is under duress from a growing population and increased industry, climate change and outdated infrastructure that loses billions of gallons of water annually.
