WATER SECURITYTexas’ Congressional Delegation Wants Trump to Punish Mexico for Missing Key Water Deadline
The state’s citrus industry is at risk, farmers say, after Mexico failed to deliver water it owes Texas as part of a 1944 treaty.
Mexico failed to deliver millions of gallons of water to South Texas farmers, in defiance of a 1944 treaty. Now, members of Texas’ congressional delegation are calling on the Trump administration to make Mexico’s failure a part of upcoming trade negotiations — including new sanctions if necessary.
Farmers and ranchers in the Rio Grande Valley are facing another year of insufficient water for their crops as the deadline for Mexico to deliver water to the U.S. under the treaty arrived on Friday, turning the country’s water deficit into a debt. After months of lawmakers pressuring Mexico into making good on its obligations, they now see the upcoming review of the U.S. trade agreement with Mexico as an opportunity to compel the state’s southern neighbor to comply.
The 1944 treaty requires Mexico to deliver 1,750,000 acre-feet of water to the U.S. from six tributaries in Mexico every five years, or 350,000 acre-feet per year. In exchange, the U.S. gives Mexico 1,500,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River every year. However, Mexico ended the five-year cycle Friday with a debt of 925,000 acre-feet, according to preliminary numbers from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
An amendment to the treaty allows the debt to roll into the next five-year cycle under times of “extraordinary drought.” It is not the first time Mexico has had to play catch-up.
“TCEQ continues to work closely with our federal partners, including the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to have reliability and consistency under the treaty,” the state agency said in a statement.
The situation has been exacerbated by drought that has impacted farmers on both sides of the Rio Grande. Mexican officials have cited the drought as the reason for its inability to make good on its water obligations.
The Texas delegation has tried to find ways to pressure Mexico to deliver more water. In April, the U.S. and Mexico signed an agreement by which Mexico committed to deliver between 324,000 – 420,000 acre-feet by the end of October. As of Oct. 11, they had delivered just 281,436 acre-feet. The International Boundary and Water Commission, the federal agency that oversees the treaty, was not able to provide updated information because of the government shutdown.
