'A dire situation': Mexico's refusal to pay water debt grips South Texas border

MERCEDES, Texas (Border Report) -- Mexico's refusal to pay back the water it owes to the United States has made for a "dire" situation in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the head of the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission said.

Speaking to a group of irrigation managers, ranchers, farmers and local leaders on Tuesday in the border town of Mercedes, IBWC U.S. Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner said, “Right now, where we’re at with the water levels, it is a very dire situation."

Mexico has paid just over one year's worth of water during the five-year cycle ending in October 2025.

Technically, they are not in debt until the deadline passes, but experts don't believe there is any way they can pay the 1.75 million acre-feet of owed water in time, since to date, they have paid out just a bit under 400,000 acre-feet, according to the IBWC.

Four months ago, Giner was addressing this same group and she was more optimistic.

At the time, she said she was negotiating with Mexico to amend the 1944 international water treaty. Changes in the treaty are called "minutes" and Giner has proposed a minute that would allow Mexico to pre-pay its water debt and help the country manage its water payments better.

But Mexico is refusing.

The Mexican states of Chihuahua and Tamaulipas launched an ad campaign against any changes to the treaty, she said.

She says the paperwork is "sitting on the president's desk" in Mexico City, but she doubts any action will be taken until after Mexico's presidential elections in June.

In the meantime, the Rio Grande Valley is starting to see serious repercussions from a lack of water to the Rio Grande.

In February, a 51-year-old sugar mill -- the only sugar mill in Texas and one of only three in the nation -- closed down because growers didn't have enough water to grow the thirsty sugar cane crops.

On April 8, the border city of Mission could vote to temporarily halt subdivision contracts on tracts of land over 5 acres because of a lack of water, the city's mayor has told Border Report.

"Hijole, it's getting tough," Giner said. "We can't just sit here and let the next year and a half go by with manos cruzadas (hands crossed)."

Since February 2023, her agency has been trying to negotiate treaty changes with Mexico. She says they have had at least 10 negotiating sessions, and when she came to Mercedes in early December, she thought Mexicans were going to sign the document on Dec. 16 at a meeting they had arranged.

But they didn't. Instead, they asked for meetings between U.S. officials and those from Chihuahua and Tamaulipas, which she says so far have not occurred.

Now she's asking the White House for help.

"This has now accelerated up to higher levels," she said.

Giner is asking local officials and growers to rally their lawmakers in Texas and those in Congress to speak up about the worsening situation.

"Mexico's deliveries are really important, and that's my job to continue advocating for that. But I want them to have all of the information so they can advocate for themselves, not only internationally but domestically. In other words, if there is issues of reduced flows from inflows from the United States, they should be asking the Bureau of Reclamation and other other federal agencies for the assistance they need," she told Border Report.

On Tuesday, Texas state Rep. Terry Canales, a Democrat from Edinburg, sent a letter signed by all the RGV state lawmakers, including Republicans, to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"We believe it is imperative to address this matter urgently to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of water resources in accordance with the agreements established more than seven decades ago," Canales wrote. "The scarcity of water in our region has far-reaching implications for agriculture, ecosystems, and communities on both sides of the border."

Canales also has asked Gov. Greg Abbott to declare a state of emergency in the RGV due to the water situation.

U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican from McAllen, has filed legislation ordering Blinken to assert more authority over Mexico and to give the IBWC more resources.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo who represents Starr County in the RGV, co-sponsored the bill. He is also on the House Appropriations Committee, which last month voted to triple the budget of the IBWC for Fiscal Year 2024, from $53 million to $156 million.

“We doubled the amount of money for the International Boundary and Water Commission so they can do a lot more work dealing with a drought. And of course, the conservation of water at the Amistad Dam, because it needs a lot of work. And of course, we got to look at the Falcon Dam, also," Cuellar told Border Report.

Cuellar says part of the spending bill, which President Joe Biden signed last month, has specific language ordering IBWC to engage Mexican officials.

"I put very specific language under the budget, telling them that they have to actively engage the Mexicans where they have to meet the treaty provisions. And it's telling the International Boundary and Water Commission, part of your budget is for you to do this. And I know Dr. Giner has been doing her best, but we got to get the Secretary of State involved," Cuellar said.

A section of the Rio Grande in Laredo is so shallow it can be walked across, as seen on March 29, 2024. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)

Amistad Dam, near Del Rio, has sinkholes and is seeping water. Repair cost estimates range from $75 million to $286 million.

But Giner told Border Report that some of the funds will immediately go to San Diego to clean up environmental hazards caused by massive sewage flows in the Tijuana River that send raw sewage and toxic chemicals daily into border neighborhoods in California.

"One of the priorities is San Diego because we are not meeting our water quality permit. And we are violating the federal law. Basically, a federal facility operated by the federal government violating federal law so that definitely needs to be addressed quickly," she said.

She said they do have funds to begin construction on Amistad. And Mexico has pledged $20 million also to fix the dam. She said they will start construction once repair designs are finalized.

"We do have sufficient funds to start Amistad right now. So one piece of it is not going to impact the other -- both of them we're going to be moving in parallel," she told Border Report.

Amistad currently is about 21% at capacity -- "the lowest levels of volume since it was filled" in 1969, Giner said.

"Amistad has reached the lowest levels of volume since it was filled" in 1969, Giner said.

Falcon Dam is slightly above that but needs dredging in some parts to keep the water flowing, Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell recently told Border Report.

Former McAllen Mayor Jim Darling is chairman of the Rio Grande Regional Water Group and serves on IBWC's citizen's board representing the RGV.

IBWC U.S. Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner greets participants at a meeting on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Mercedes, Texas. Former McAllen Mayor Jim Darling, center, is in charge of regional water planning and he attended. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)

At Tuesday's meeting, he told Border Report that he doesn't believe homeowners' faucets will shut off, but without agriculture water pushing municipal water through the pipeline, local cities are going to have to pay a lot more to get their water to their destinations.

"Ag water in the canal is leading to the water treatment plants. That's what I'm worried about. What are we going to do if ag doesn't get any allotments?" Darling said.

He said conservation also will be key for everyone in the upcoming summer months.

“Pray for rain, it's going to be a long hot summer," Darling said. "There will be enough water in the houses – I'm not too worried about that -- for drinking and other things you do in the house with water – but lawns may be taking a little beating.”

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.