McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Mexico recently paid a small portion of the water it owes the United States under a 1944 international treaty.
A total of 56,750 acre-feet of water was paid via “a transfer of ownership in Amistad Dam” on April 30, Frank Fisher, spokesman for U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission told Border Report on Wednesday.
The amount paid is only a fraction of the 1.14 million acre-feet that Mexico still owes South Texas by the treaty’s October deadline, U.S. officials say.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokeswoman Laura Lopez confirmed to Border Report the transfer of water to Amistad Dam north of Del Rio, Texas.
This means Mexico turned over to the United States some of what was listed as Mexico’s share of water in that reservoir.
The additional water increase brings the U.S. capacity at Amistad Reservoir to 21.95%, that’s up a point from a month ago, according to data sent Tuesday from Rio Grande Watermaster Georgina Bermea in an email to shareholders and obtained by Border Report.
Falcon Dam, in western Starr County — which did not get a water transfer — remains at 11.44% at U.S. capacity with 305,014 acre-feet stored, Bermea says.
With this water transfer, Mexico has paid over 603,000 acre-feet of water so far this five-year cycle, according to IBWC data. However, under the treaty, Mexico owes the United States 1.75 million acre-feet by October, leaving just six months to pay the remaining 1.14 million acre-feet of water.
An acre-foot of water is the equivalent of flooding an acre field with one-foot high worth of water. An Olympic-sized swimming pool has roughly 2 acre-feet of water.
Mexico’s promises
The transfer comes weeks after Mexico on April 28 promised to begin repaying the water it owes the United States. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says the water will be paid in several installments through October.
In a statement, Mexican officials said in Spanish that the water is being paid “even in a scenario of a year with low rainfall.”
Mexico’s assurances came after President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressured Mexico to pay water and even withheld U.S. water payments to Mexico that were owed to Tijuana via the Colorado River.
“Mexico has committed to make an immediate transfer of water from international reservoirs and increase the U.S. share of the flow in six of Mexico’s Rio Grande tributaries through the end of the current five-year water cycle. These steps will help American farmers, ranchers, and municipalities in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley get much-needed water and reduce shortfalls in deliveries under the 1944 Water Treaty,” the State Department said in an April 28 statement.
Politicians, especially Republicans, like U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, and Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, were quick to praise Trump for negotiating the payments and for getting Mexico to pay up.
However, this is the first documented proof that the United States has received the water.
And Mexico will have to make several similar future transfers and payments if it is to make the October deadline, under the 1944 treaty.
Water and UCMA negotiations
De La Cruz on Thursday sent U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer a letter urging that the 1944 international water treaty be included as negotiations begin to review the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“Integrating the 1944 Water Treaty into the USMCA, whether through a side letter or other appropriate means, would provide a crucial opportunity to strengthen enforcement, predictability, and ensure Mexico’s compliance with its water delivery obligations,” De La Cruz wrote in the May 8 letter.
De La Cruz wants negotiators to:
- Establish clear and predictable water deliveries, and enforceable water delivery schedules within the USMCA framework.
- Develop a transparent monitoring and reporting system to track water deliveries and identify potential violations.
- Utilize the USMCA’s dispute settlement procedures to address instances of non-compliance.
- Explore the potential for economic sanctions or other trade-related measures in cases of persistent non-compliance.
In 2024, the state’s only sugar mill located in the South Texas border town of Santa Rosa shut down due to a lack of water to grow the thirsty plants. It was one of only three sugar mills in the country.
Now, the South Texas citrus industry is threatened by a lack of water as well as triple-digit temperatures already this early in the season.
“South Texas agricultural producers have faced significant challenges due to Mexico’s inconsistent, and often insufficient, water deliveries under the 1944 Water Treaty. These shortfalls create severe economic hardships, threaten agricultural livelihoods, and undermine the region’s overall water security. The lack of effective enforcement mechanisms within the existing treaty has exacerbated these problems,” De La Cruz says.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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