U.S., Mexico agree to new deal that sends water to South Texas

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MISSION — Mexico has agreed to deliver more water to the U.S. in an effort to pay off its increasing water debt, however, the water deliveries would still fall short of the total amount owed under a 1944 treaty.

Mexico will send up to 420,000 acre feet of water to the Rio Grande Valley by October, a deadline set in the original treaty. The U.S. State Department first announced the agreement Monday.

U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican from Edinburg, laid out additional details of the agreement at a news conference Tuesday.

"Today we have made a big, big step in the right direction," De La Cruz said, praising President Donald Trump and his administration for pressuring Mexico on water. "This is just the first step, it is not the last. This fight affects every South Texas family because every one of us needs water."

This week’s announcement is the latest development in a years-long push by Texas farmers and elected leaders to force Mexico to deliver water to their parched land. Producers all over the region have had to scale back dramatically. And in some instances, entire industries have collapsed. Meanwhile, Mexican officials cited their own issues with water scarcity for their inability to meet their treaty obligations.

As part of the 1944 water treaty, Mexico must deliver 1,750,000 acre-feet of water to the U.S. from six tributaries every five years. That averages to 350,000 acre-feet every year. With more than four years into the current cycle, which ends in October, Mexico has delivered less than 600,000 acre-feet.

If Mexico is able to deliver the proposed maximum of 420,000 acre-feet under the new agreement, its total deliveries for the current five-year cycle would reach 950,000 acre-feet.

To address the more than 800,000 acre-feet that would still be owed, Mexico agreed to an immediate transfer of 56,750 acre-feet of water at the Amistad Reservoir, which is jointly managed by the U.S. and Mexico. They also agreed to make monthly transfers at both Amistad and the Falcon reservoirs.

Mexico also agreed to increase the share of water that the U.S. gets from the six tributaries managed by the treaty. As part of the 1944 treaty, the U.S. gets a third of water from six tributaries, but in this agreement, Mexico will allow the U.S. to receive half of that water.

Additionally, Mexico will deliver more water from the Río San Juan, a flow not managed by the treaty and which cannot be stored at the reservoirs, when it can be beneficial for the U.S.

The two countries plan to meet in July to assess the hydrology conditions and evaluate the actions taken thus far. They also intend to hold ongoing meetings to formulate a plan for Mexico to make dependable deliveries during the next five-year cycle.

In November, the federal agency tasked with overseeing the treaty, reached an agreement with Mexico to amend the treaty. Similarly to the new agreement, the treaty amendment allows Mexico to transfer water stored at the two reservoirs to the U.S. and allows Mexico to deliver water it doesn’t need from the San Juan and Alamo rivers, both of which were not included in the original treaty as acceptable sources of water deliveries.

De La Cruz said the new agreement, unlike the amendment, will come with consequences and that the next step will be to make it part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade agreement signed by Trump in 2020.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who has also led efforts to pressure Mexico to make more water deliveries, thanked the Trump administration for obtaining a commitment from Mexico and accused the Biden administration of "sitting on its hands and letting Texans suffer.”

“South Texas has been devastated by Mexico’s repeated refusal to deliver the water it has owed the United States for far too long, and I commend the Trump administration for securing this critical deal for Mexico to finally send water to the region,” Cornyn said in a news release.

Last year, Cornyn led a letter to Senate and House appropriations committees asking them to withhold funds from Mexico until they agreed to provide more water.

“I will continue working alongside President Trump and his administration to push Mexico for consistent, annual deliveries to live up to its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty and ensure our South Texas agriculture community has the resources needed to thrive,” Cornyn added.

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat from McAllen joined Cornyn’s letter, welcomed the new agreement but insisted that any water from Mexico must be met with increased federal funding to improve the local infrastructure.

“We lose 40% of the Mexican water payments to evaporation and seepage,” Gonzalez said. “If we don’t get our infrastructure in order, we will never be out of the woods.”

Aiming to invest in other solutions for water, De La Cruz formed the South Texas Water Working Group in August which focuses on developing water infrastructure to enable the region to be self-sustaining when it comes to water.

Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez noted the agreement would only provide short-term stability and lamented the irreversible losses experienced by the region due to a shortage of water.

Last year, Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, the last sugar mill in the state, announced their closure after 51 years in operation due to the lack of water. As drought conditions persisted, limiting the amount of water that could be used to irrigate crops, the agriculture community grew concerned that the citrus industry could be next.

The Texas Farm Bureau expressed appreciation for the deal and for the critical relief it will bring to farmers over the next six months.

“The recovery of Rio Grande Valley agriculture will take time after years of hardship,” said Russell Boening, president of the Texas Farm Bureau. “Mexico must make good on its new promise to deliver water.”

To provide some financial relief to the farmers who have been unable to plant their crops, De La Cruz, along with the Texas’ congressional delegation, secured $280 million in disaster assistance.

"I've been working on this problem for over 25 years," said Dale Murden, president of Texas Citrus Mutual. "We have never had this taken to a level this high where we've finally seen some action."

"This is going to help citrus get through the summer and it's going to help produce have a fall."

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

Disclosure: Texas Citrus Mutual and Texas Farm Bureau have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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