Drought, lack of water from Mexico shrinking Rio Grande in Zapata, Texas

ZAPATA, Texas (Border Report) — Rocks and debris that would normally be beneath the Rio Grande jut out from what are now wide, green banks on both sides of this international river between Mexico and this rural part of South Texas.

As the water levels in the river drop daily, the banks grow wider and the town of Zapata worries it could soon run out of drinking water. Worse, they only have stored a day and a half of emergency water supplies.

Old tires, PVC pipes and other objects that used to be below the water’s surface now line a shore that a few months ago didn’t exist, points out Ralph Treviño, Zapata’s water district manager.

But persistent drought, triple-digit heat and a lack of water payments from Mexico to the Rio Grande have visibly taken its toll on the river here, which supplies the town’s 5,000 residents.

“We can see the banks, we can see green banks. We can see the rocks. Normally, we don’t see this. Normally, the water level is pretty high enough where we’re not able to see this,” Treviño said Thursday as he took Border Report on an exclusive tour of operations from atop a catwalk over the Rio Grande.

Zapata gets its drinking water from the Rio Grande right before it drains into Falcon International Reservoir, commonly known as Falcon Lake. The water district’s main intake pump is under a shed at the end of a catwalk.

But water levels are going down daily, creating conditions under which the pump will not work.

Levels at Falcon Lake were at 251.76 feet on Thursday. That’s lower than in summer 2022 when levels hit 253 feet, prompting dredging equipment to be brought in to dig trenches and deep pockets within the river to try to pool water to extract.

“This is the lowest that I’ve ever seen,” Treviño said.

If levels continue to fall, and the pump equipment can’t extract water, they are ready with an emergency pump and a special pad that was built on the riverbank in 2022 to hold it.

“We can see the pad again. It’s been so low that the pad is now exposed. We have our pump ready to place in that situation,” he said. “I’m going to say we have about another 5 feet before the water level gets to the top of the pump and we won’t be able to be getting enough water from the pumps from the Rio Grande. At that point, we’re going to need our emergency pump.”

The emergency pump currently sits atop a hill on the riverbank, along with new pipes and gaskets that Treviño’s crew has ready to put in the water.

An emergency water pump, left, sits ready on Thursday water in Zapata, Texas. If water levels drop below 250 feet, the town’s current pump, right, will no longer be able to extract water. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report Photos)

On the Mexican side, some cattle grazed on the new green grass shoots, which just a few weeks ago was an area completely underwater, he said.

“We even see cattle now,” he said shocked. “And we’re barely at the end of May. So we still got the summer season coming up, so it’s going to get tough.”

Zapata is currently at Stage 3 water conservation, which means restrictions on when residents can water lawns, wash cars and other uses. But if lake levels drop another foot to below 250 feet, then Stage 4 restrictions kick in, forbidding any lawn watering.

“We continue to pump water, but it’s really muddy,” Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell told Border Report.

“It’s about as low as I’ve ever seen it,” said Rathmell, whose county has a population of about 14,000. The city of Zapata, The unincorporated community of Zapata, which is the county seat, is home to about 5,000.

The water levels at the two international reservoirs on the South Texas border — Falcon and Amistad — are at historic lows.

According to the Texas Water Development Board, Amistad Reservoir, upriver outside Del Rio, was 27.7% on Thursday. Falcon Reservoir was just 8.7%.

This week, about 50 miles north, Laredo implemented a drought contingency plan that will go into effect when Amistad dips below 25% and water capacity in the border city exceeds 85% for three days.

Hidalgo County, to the east, has declared a drought disaster. And last month, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez asked federal and state officials to account for what they believe is “missing water” from both reservoirs.

U.S. Reps. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican from McAllen, and Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, also demand that Mexico make water payments to the Rio Grande.

Under a 1944 international water treaty, Mexico is supposed to deliver 1.2 million acre-feet of water to the United States during a five-year cycle. The current cycle ends in October 2025 and Mexico, so far, has barely paid one year’s worth of water allotment, and experts don’t expect that Mexico will make up the difference in the remaining 17 months.

In February, the waters in Falcon Lake were high enough that the Texas Border Czar Mike Banks helped the local sheriff christen a new boat that was to be used for patrols by the state as part of Operation Lone Star, its border security initiative.

But on Thursday, there were no boats to be seen. Muddy soil led to the dock, which used to float atop the water. Two fishermen stood on a pile of rocks on the other banks of the lake, trying to cast nets where boats used to zoom around.

This area used to be a popular fishing draw and would bring in anglers from across the country. But not anymore.

The dock at Falcon Lake County Boat Ramp sits on a near-dry lake bed as seen on May 23, 2024. At right, cones warn boaters not to try to put in at Falcon Lake. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report File Photos)

Diego Sanchez, 19, works at convenience store in Zapata off Highway 83 where boaters would often stop for last-minute Gatorade and drinks before heading out on the lake.

On Thursday there were very few customers.

“I actually went down there to look at it because me and my friends would go fishing and recently when I was driving home I looked to the side of the bridge and saw a small puddle,” Sanchez said. “There’s no water.”

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.