"The amendment to a 1944 treaty will help Mexico catch up with its water deliveries to the U.S. and might help Rio Grande Valley farmers devastated by low rainfall."
"McALLEN — The U.S. and Mexico agreed to amend a 1944 water treaty, which might bring some relief to South Texas farmers struggling with scarce water.
The International Water and Boundary Commission, a federal agency that oversees international water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, announced Saturday that the two countries had signed a highly-anticipated agreement that will give Mexico more options to meet its water deliveries to the U.S. Mexico still needs to give the U.S. more than a million acre-feet of water.
South Texas farmers and ranchers have been devastated lately by low rainfall and Mexico falling behind on its deliveries to the region.
Under the 1944 international treaty, Mexico must deliver 1,750,000 acre-feet of water to the U.S. from six tributaries every five years, or an average of 350,000 every year. But Mexico is at a high risk of not meeting that deadline. The country still has a balance of more than 1.3 million acre-feet of water it needs to deliver by October 2025."
Berenice Garcia reports for the Texas Tribune November 9, 2024.
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