Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
In a historic and consequential move, the United States has officially denied Mexico’s request for a special water delivery from the Colorado River to Tijuana.
The Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, a U.S. Department of State division, addressed this matter on March 20, 2025, via their official social media channels. It marks the first time since the signing of the 1944 Water Treaty that such a request has been rejected — signaling deepening tensions over water management and compliance between the neighboring nations.
The 1944 treaty, a longstanding bilateral agreement, regulates water distribution between the U.S. and Mexico between the Rio Grande and Colorado Rivers. According to the treaty, Mexico must deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. over five-year cycles, averaging 350,000 acre-feet annually. However, by late 2024, Mexico had fallen over one million acre-feet behind its commitments. Officials attribute this shortfall to a combination of prolonged drought, increased agricultural demands, and aging infrastructure on the Mexican side of the border.
The U.S. Department of State defended its decision by citing the severe impact that Mexico’s ongoing shortfalls have had on American agriculture — particularly in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where water scarcity is crippling the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. Crops such as citrus, cotton, and vegetables have suffered from reduced irrigation, leading to lower yields and economic instability in the region.
In November 2024, an agreement was reached between the two countries to provide Mexico with tools and additional flexibility to meet its water obligations earlier within the cycle. These tools included improved coordination on water conservation, reuse strategies, and tapping into alternative sources. Despite these provisions, U.S. officials have warned that it may be statistically impossible for Mexico to make up the difference before the current cycle concludes in October 2025.
President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico has publicly maintained that her administration is actively working to fulfill treaty requirements through the National Water Commission (Conagua) and the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). She emphasized that water shortages due to climate change and drought are being addressed, though U.S. officials appear unconvinced, pushing for stricter compliance.
Tijuana, which sources approximately 90% of its water from the Colorado River, faces intensifying shortages. The city’s aging infrastructure, combined with the broader regional drought, means the denial of emergency water deliveries from the U.S. could further strain Baja California’s already fragile water supply systems.
The water crisis is also reshaping the agricultural landscape in South Texas — most notably in Santa Rosa. The Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, Inc. (RGVSG), a cooperative of over 100 family-owned farms and the last remaining sugar mill in Texas, was forced to shut its doors after over five decades of operation. The closure followed a dramatic decline in sugarcane acreage, which dropped from 34,000 acres in early 2023 to just 10,000 by early 2024. Without reliable irrigation water — much of it linked to Mexico’s unmet deliveries — sugarcane farming became economically unsustainable.
As a result, roughly 500 jobs were lost, affecting both full-time and seasonal workers and sending ripple effects throughout the local economy. With the shutdown of the RGVSG mill, Texas has ceased sugarcane production altogether, leaving only Louisiana and Florida in the sugarcane industry nationwide.
The crisis has triggered bipartisan concern among Texas lawmakers. Senator John Cornyn, along with fellow congressional representatives from South Texas — including Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez, Tony Gonzales, Monica De La Cruz, and Ted Cruz — have urged federal authorities to hold Mexico accountable for its treaty commitments. In recent correspondence with Secretary of State Nominee Marco Rubio, these lawmakers called for diplomatic pressure on Mexico and emphasized the immediate need to protect Texas farmers and ranchers, who are facing increasing hardship due to water shortages.
Failure to uphold international water agreements carries dire consequences not only for diplomacy but also for the economic well-being of communities on both sides of the border. As climate change continues to disrupt historical water patterns, the U.S. and Mexico face an urgent need to modernize infrastructure, improve cross-border coordination, and rethink long-term strategies for sustainable water management.
The future of the 1944 treaty — once a cornerstone of binational cooperation — now hangs in the balance. What happens next will determine the stability of regional agriculture and the strength of U.S.-Mexico relations in an era of escalating environmental and geopolitical pressures.
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