Valley leaders are starting to discuss the region’s need for a more reliable supply of water

EDINBURG, Texas – Back in January, as exclusively reported by the Rio Grande Guardian, state Rep. Terry Canales urged RGV leaders to focus on water. 

No issue was more important to the longterm vitality of the region, Canales said, at a Rio Grande Valley Partnership event.

“If everybody in the Valley is not focused on the future of water, then you haven’t prioritized life,” Canales said.

“I asked the people involved in water, how does the Rio Grande Valley get water? The response was, extreme weather events. That’s code for luck. And if we’re dependent on luck for the future water, we don’t have a plan, ladies and gentlemen.”

Canales, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, said he would be getting his staff to research the issue thoroughly, so that he can prepare legislation for the next legislative session in Austin.

Since Canales made his plea, the region has seen the closure of the Valley’s sugar mill in Santa Rosa. The cooperative that runs the mill said they were closing down due to a lack of water. Although it would be too late to save sugar growing in the Valley, the cooperative urged Mexico to honor a 1944 water sharing treaty and release water into the Rio Grande.

In response to the closure of the mill, Canales said:

“The RGV needs to wake up to the fact that we are running out of water. The RGV currently depends on extreme weather events and Mexico for its water supply. That is not a plan we can rely on. A failure to plan is a plan to fail,” Canales said.

“While entities are out there being innovative, our region seems to be largely apathetic, with no sense of urgency or great concern. This will prove to be a catastrophic approach.

“My staff and I are working on solutions and are planning a water summit to bring all major stakeholders together.

“Make no mistake, the time to act and invest in water is now. Without water, there is no life. Without a reliable long-term water solution, our economy will suffer and the amazing growth and economic prosperity we have experienced and grown to love will quickly dwindle.

“There is nothing more important and nothing more pressing. The good news is by working together as a region we can make it happen. We can have water security.”

Well, it appears Valley leaders are now making water supply a top issue. At two events over the past week, water has been discussed.

At the South Texas College 2024 Workforce Summit, Keith Patridge, president and CEO of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, spoke about the issue.

“I compliment Valley Partnership and a lot of people in this room for really focusing on a regional approach to a lot of these things. For example, water,” Patridge said.

Many of the manufacturing companies McAllen EDC is looking to bring to the region need a lot of water, Patridge said.

“Even if you’re talking about a company that has a thousand people, they still need a lot of water. Well, what are we doing about the water issue?” Patridge asked. 

“We’re sitting here with a water expert right in front of me and he can give you statistics all over the place on where we are with water. How do we address that? That’s something that is bigger than any individual city, any individual community. That’s something that we need to address regionally.”

The water expert Patridge was referring to was former McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. He was in the audience at the STC event. Darling is the longtime chairman of the Rio Grande Regional Water Authority and is considered a leading authority on water issues in the Valley. In January, Darling told the Guardian he was pleased Rep. Canales had woken everyone up on the need to address future water supplies.

The other Valley leader to bring up the issue of water over the past week was Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza. He did so in his State of the City address.

“I want to take the opportunity to bring attention to the pressing water shortage crisis, the scarcity of water in the Valley is reaching a critical level,” Garza said, in his address. “It’s crucial that our federal government revisits the 1944 treaty with Mexico. And with that there is decisive action taken on this matter. Tonight, I’m answering Chairman Terry Canales call for all of us to come together to find solutions to this water crisis.”

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