The South Texas border is struggling with a worsening water shortage situation, as supplies are not keeping up with growth and Mexico has not paid the U.S. the water it owes.
Around 250 lawmakers gathered in the border city of Pharr for the Deep South Texas State of Water Symposium on Tuesday.
The bipartisan event was organized by Democratic Texas state Rep. Terry Canales and Democratic state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, along with the Texas Water Foundation. Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who represents South Texas, took part in the discussion.
CEO of the Texas Water Foundation, Sarah Schlessinger, said that water supplies are not set to keep up with the population growth of Texas: the state is expecting a 70 percent growth spurt over the next 50 years.
There are several other reasons for the water shortage, including that South Texas has experienced prolonged periods of drought.
Dr. Robert Mace, who specializes in hydrogeology at the University of Texas, in Austin, told Newsweek: “The Rio Grande below Presidio, Texas, and Ojinaga, Mexico, supports agriculture, industry, and over 2.6 million people who live on both sides of the river. For much of the river’s history, since the international agreement in 1944, the primary form of management has been ‘pray for a hurricane’ to fill the reservoirs.
“With increased use of the river, drought, and a warming planet, the reservoirs are suffering historic lows and, as a consequence, threatening the entire valley. Solutions often source from discussions and understanding. This symposium will hopefully start that process toward a more water-resilient future. It’s becoming clear that ‘praying for a hurricane’ ain’t gonna cut it.”
An Eagle Pass Border Patrol official look over the Rio Grande in February 2033. Parts of Texas rely on water from the Rio Grande.
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Another issue is the state’s reliance on surface water, namely the Rio Grande River, on which the Rio Grande Valley is “90 percent dependent”, per Maria-Elena Giner, U.S. Commissioner for the International Boundary and Water Commission, according to local newspaper ConchoValley.
A few weeks ago, Giner released a report that said the U.S. has contributed less to the river in recent years.
“It has been a very scary thing for me to do as the head of this agency and it makes people very uncomfortable, but I felt it was our duty as an agency,” she said.
The other major issue is that Mexico owes water to the Rio Grande, under the 1944 Mexico-United States Water Treaty, formally known as the “Treaty on the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande.”
Mexico is supposed to provide 350,000 acre-feet of water per year over a five-year period but, as of August 10, Mexico has only paid 400,100 acre-feet of water to the U.S. in this current five-year cycle, which ends in October 2025, according to data from the International Boundary and Water Commission.
Mexico has previously argued that it is struggling to meet its water delivery requirements because of its drought conditions. Newsweek has contacted the Mexican Department of External Affairs for further comment.
Professor of atmospheric sciences at the Texas A&M University, John Nielsen-Gammon, told Newsweek: “This is the biggest water issue for Texas. Mexico is required by treaty to deliver a certain amount of water every five years, but there’s no requirement to deliver it evenly. During recent droughts in northern Mexico, they prioritized sustaining local agriculture; it was politically impossible to do otherwise and now they are left hoping for a nice wet hurricane.”
Mace added: “Water is bipartisan and, along the Rio Grande in Texas, binational. So I commend the organizers for holding a symposium to increase understanding of the complicated and truly serious issues on the river.”
The Texas Water Foundation CEO Schlessinger told Newsweek: “The demands on the Rio Grande/Río Bravo have become greater than the river can reliably support. If the Rio Grande Valley wants a secure water future, communities will need to work together to diversify their water supply and increase efficiency.
“The symposium brought together federal, state, county, and local leadership from across the region to have that conversation, and talk about where there are shared challenges and opportunities.”