Bone Dry Border Dispute Leaves Farmers High And Dry

Frankly, it’s about time. Mexico has consistently reneged on its water responsibilities for decades. The 1944 Water Treaty, officially known as the Treaty Regarding the Use of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and the Rio Grande, was signed between the United States and Mexico on February 3, 1944.

The treaty aimed to allocate the waters of these rivers between the two countries, ensuring that both nations had reliable access to essential water resources needed for agriculture, industry, and urban development.

According to the terms of the treaty, the United States is required to provide Mexico with 1.5 million acre-feet of water annually from the Colorado River. In return, Mexico must deliver a minimum of 350,000 acre-feet on average each year over five consecutive years, amounting to a total of 1,750,000 acre-feet in that five-year cycle. 

The 1944 Treaty states that “in the event of extraordinary drought, any deficiencies at the end of the aforementioned five-year cycle shall be compensated for in the following five-year cycle.” This agreement is overseen by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), a binational organization established to administer and enforce the treaty's provisions and to resolve any disputes that may arise.

Mexico has struggled to consistently meet its water delivery obligations since 1992. It has failed to fulfill its Rio Grande delivery commitments three times within a five-year cycle, resulting in deficits for the cycles ending in 1997, 2002, and 2015. Each of these deficits was carried over into the following cycles. While all debts were eventually settled, South Texans have endured the consequences of unreliable water deliveries for over 30 years.

The last five-year cycle concluded in conflict in 2020, when farmers in Chihuahua protested the water deliveries to the U.S. In a last-minute agreement, Mexico decided to transfer water stored in international reservoirs to the U.S. This action allowed the cycle to end without a deficit and helped avoid potential retaliation from the Trump Administration.

We are now well into the fourth year of the current five-year cycle, and Mexico has delivered only 400,000 acre-feet of water to the United States due to spillover from the Luis L. Leon Dam, which does not count as a proper delivery from a reservoir. It is unlikely that Mexico will conclude this five-year cycle in compliance with the treaty and is likely to request an extension, citing an "extraordinary drought."

Throughout the current cycle, Mexico accumulated 600,338 acre-feet in June 2021 and 2,238,653 acre-feet in August 2022 from the six treaty tributaries, from which the U.S. is entitled to receive one-third of the flows. 

At one point, Mexico had an accumulation of 2,966,676 acre-feet, yet none of that water was released into the Rio Grande to meet treaty obligations.

Since 2002, Chihuahua has nearly doubled its acres in specialty crop production. For example, it is now the number one producer of pecans in North America, surpassing New Mexico. While the agricultural economy in South Texas suffers, Chihuahua’s agricultural economy flourishes, utilizing the water that should be delivered to the U.S. under the treaty.

A study by Texas A&M AgriLife, titled "Estimated Economic Impacts of Irrigation Water Shortages on Lower Rio Grande Valley Agriculture," estimates that the region could face a total economic loss of over $993.2 million in 2024 due to a lack of irrigation water for crop production. The report also predicts that this shortage could result in the loss of more than 8,000 jobs in the area. The primary reason for the loss of irrigation water is Mexico's failure to meet its annual water delivery obligations to the U.S. as outlined in the treaty.

A statement from the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs on Thursday indicated that the U.S. was responding to Mexico's failure to comply by cutting off water supplies to Tijuana, a city located on the border with California.

"Mexico's continued shortfalls in its water deliveries under the 1944 water-sharing treaty are decimating American agriculture — particularly farmers in the Rio Grande Valley. As a result, today for the first time, the U.S. will deny Mexico's non-treaty request for a special delivery channel for Colorado River water to be delivered to Tijuana."

In a social media post, Cruz agreed wholeheartedly with the decision.

"Excellent. As I said yesterday, this option is absolutely what the Trump administration needs to pressure Mexico to fulfill its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty.”

Before the water announcement from the bureau, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that Mexico's national water agency and the International Boundary and Water Commission are actively working to address the issue.

"It is being addressed by Conagua and CILA, which is in charge of reviewing this treaty.”

The hell with reviewing the treaty. Texas’ last sugar mill, the Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers Association in Santa Rosa, has closed after operating for more than 50 years. This shutdown has resulted in a $100 million loss to the local economy and led to the elimination of approximately 500 jobs. Comprising over 100 farmers, the cooperative's closure signifies the loss of one of the region's largest farming operations, primarily due to the ongoing water crisis.

Sheinbaum is great at giving lip service but is extremely slow in taking action. When Trump initiated the talk of tariffs, he stated that he wanted Mexico to stop the illegal immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as the issue of fentanyl smuggling.

Instead of acknowledging that illegal immigrants are migrating through her country to enter the U.S. and accepting her share of the responsibility, Sheinbaum responded by warning Trump and Americans that a trade war would lead to job losses in both countries and increase the cost of goods and services.

Far too many countries have adopted a similar attitude to Mexico's. They don’t care about treaties or agreements; they see the United States as an ATM for either money or natural resources, and they bleed our country until someone has the guts to step up and put an end to the one-sided abuse.

Trump has seen enough of this type of exploitation, and he intends to put an end to it despite the whining from bleeding-heart liberals. How long will it be until Trump is viewed as a villain for stopping the flow of water to Mexico? The left doesn’t care that Mexico has devastated American Farmers; those are facts, and Democrats, along with the MSM, hate those.