Over the next six months, Mexican officials will deliver 400,000 acre-feet of water to Texan farmers, sources say.
Earlier this month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced “immediate” water delivery to Texan farmers, reported the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB). For years, Mexico has defaulted on water payments which had been previously agreed upon by the two country’s leaders in a 1944 Water Treaty. In 2024, the last sugar mill in Texas shut down due to issues securing water after 51 years of growing and processing sugarcane into raw sugar in the Rio Grande Valley, reported Expana.
“The immediate deliveries of water and the deliveries of water in the next six months will be critical for farmers and ranchers who have long suffered because of Mexico’s non-compliance,” said TFB President, Russell Boening.
After the last sugar mill in Texas closed, Tudor G. Uhlhorn presented at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ’s) Annual Trade Fair and Symposium in May 2024.
“The next agricultural sectors in the Rio Grande Valley to fail without irrigation water will be the citrus and vegetable industries. They, in turn, will be followed by all other irrigated row crops,” wrote Uhlhorn, Chairman of the Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers (RGVSG), Inc.
With the sugar industry in Texas ground to a halt, it’s still unclear when Mexican leaders will deliver water to the US after years without meeting treaty agreements.
Most recently, the US has stopped water shipments to Tijuana until Mexico complies with the treaty. Until water payments are made, producers with irrigation rights along the Rio Grande River can apply for a piece of $280 million in grant assistance from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the USDA.
“Mexico owes Texas 1.3 million acre-feet [AF] of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, but Mexico is unfortunately violating their treaty obligation,” wrote US President Trump on Truth Social. “This is very unfair, and it is hurting South Texas Farmers very badly. Last year, the only Sugar Mill in Texas closed, because Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas farmers.”
Mexico’s end of the treaty would be met if the country’s leaders delivered 350,000 AF of water annually from the Rio Grande River. Each year, the US in turn delivers 300,000 AF of water to Mexico from the Colorado River.
Mexico has only transferred about 400,000 AF of the 1.75 million AF during a five-year cycle that ends in October 2025. In other words, Mexico has sent less than 30% of the required water, according to data from the International Boundary and Water Commission. For the last 25 years, each five-year cycle has ended with a deficit due to the US.
This time around, the US has almost fulfilled the obligations of this treaty to Mexico, Expana reported (customer access only).
Mexico’s state of Chihuahua has expanded irrigated acreage without regard to the treaty and obligations to the US, wrote Uhlhorn who asserts that Mexican leaders are waiting for heavy rains from a tropical storm or hurricane to make water payments.
“We as Rio Grande Valley farmers are very excited to know that President Trump and his administration are negotiating with President Sheinbaum to get a resolution in place,” said Brian Jones, TFB District 13 state director and a Rio Grande Valley farmer. “Valley agriculture has suffered greatly over the past three years without the water owed to us. We’re hopeful that what is received is a substantial amount of water, along with an enforceable agreement for consistent future deliveries.”
The USDA issued a press release which contained a statement from the Agriculture Secretary:
“Mexico finally meeting the water needs of Texas farmers and ranchers under the 1944 Water Treaty is a major win for American agriculture. After weeks of negotiations with Mexican cabinet officials alongside the Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, we secured an agreement to give Texas producers the water they need to thrive. While this is a significant step forward, we welcome Mexico’s continued cooperation to support the future of American agriculture,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Image source: quiggyt4 / Shutterstock.com
Written by Ryan Gallagher
