South Texas farmers are set to receive long-awaited relief after the Mexican government agreed to meet its obligations under an 81-year-old water-sharing treaty between the U.S. and Mexico. This comes as South Texas growers continue to suffer through a catastrophic water shortage amid a persistent drought.
Mexico will now be required to increase water transfers and release reserves from reservoirs to aid U.S. agricultural producers through October, according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who announced the new agreement on Monday.
"This will meet the immediate needs of American farmers and ranchers," Rollins said on social media. "We are committed to ensuring that Mexico meets its treaty obligations, and fulfills its outstanding water debts in support of American agriculture."
The lack of water deliveries from Mexico has exacerbated issues caused by prolonged drought conditions in South Texas. The shortage has reduced crop yields and driven up production costs and eventually led to the closure of Texas' last sugar mill, which operated in the Rio Grande Valley for more than 50 years. In 2023 alone, the region suffered an economic impact of nearly $1 billion due to the ongoing water shortage, according to Texas A&M AgriLife.
Under the new agreement, Mexico will need to deliver more water in the next six months than it was previously required to provide over the last four years — an effort seen as critical to addressing years of mounting shortfalls.
"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 Russell Boening, president of the Texas Farm Bureau. "The recovery of Rio Grande Valley agriculture will take time after years of hardship."
The ongoing water crisis led to the launch of a $280 million grant program to help struggling farmers in South Texas. The program, which will be overseen by the Texas Department of Agriculture, will send direct payments to farmers in eligible counties who experienced water delivery losses in 2023 and 2024. The program is accepting applications through May 22.
Treaty obligations and diplomatic pressure
For years now, Mexico has consistently failed to hold up its end of the 1944 Water Treaty, which requires the U.S. and Mexico to share water over five-year cycles. Under the agreement, Mexico delivers water from the Rio Grande, while the U.S. gives water to Mexico from the Colorado River. By the end of 2024, Mexico had delivered less than 30% of the required water since Oct. 2020, according to data from the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission.
The new agreement will require Mexico to deliver the rest of the water by October, the end of the current five-year cycle.
Mexican officials have previously said they're unable to deliver because, similar to South Texas, the region has suffered from an ongoing drought. According to data from the North American Drought Monitor, a majority of the Rio Grande and Bravo River Basin was experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions by the end of March.
But pressure from Texas lawmakers has been mounting; President Donald Trump recently threatened to implement retaliatory tariffs and sanctions against Mexico due to the country's ongoing failure to deliver water to the U.S. This came after Trump denied a special request from Mexico for water last month, marking the first time the U.S. has formally refused a non-treaty water request from Mexico.
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