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Historically the river water of the Rio Grande has been plentiful and was available for agriculture and cities in the RGV. But that has changed, said Mark Vega, general manager for McAllen Public Utilities.
“I don't have to tell you all the challenges of that today. With drought, with the Mexican water repayment, just so many, so many issues, possible contamination, things like that,” said Vega.
Vega was speaking at “The State of Water in the Rio Grande Valley” sponsored by the McAllen Citizens League and recorded by the Rio Grande Guardian.
He said the RGV can no longer depend on there being enough water in the border river for their needs and are moving to diversify with new water sources, including a project to desalinate brackish groundwater. Vega called this the biggest project in McAllen’s history, costing $185 million — which means water will cost more for residents.
“And so that's a big change from the way we've always done things. When I came in 23 years ago, it was much simpler. We could depend on the Rio Grande River,” Vega said.
A recent study warns that the Rio Grande is in a state of severe water crisis, driven by decades of overuse and worsening drought. The report, “Overconsumption Gravely Threatens Water Security in the Binational Rio Grande-Bravo Basin,” finds that more than half the water used across the Rio Grande basin is being drained faster than it can be replenished.
Water is being pulled from the river, reservoirs, and underground aquifers at an unsustainable pace, leaving long stretches of the Rio Grande dry and accelerating a decline in farmland and groundwater supplies.
Brian McManus, general manager for the East Rio Hondo Water Company, said the RGV region continues to see population growth, which means increased water demand on a shrinking supply.
“We do have our concerns about moving forward, in particular with population growth, with industrial growth, with potential data centers coming to the valley, with additional power demands. Power takes water to be produced," McManus said.
He added that they need to be able to meet the rising demand for the water.
“If you don't have the water ready when industry shows up or when commerce shows up or when residential development shows up, you can't provide, you can't get that development, you can't have that economic boom in your community,” McManus said.
Another issue McManus pointed out is that the Rio Grande is a shared river with Mexico and that is creating a water contamination problem.
“We have a lot of water quality issues we deal with from what I believe to be wastewater discharges from the Mexican side of untreated wastewater, and it affects our water quality,” he said.
Mexico is also holding back water from tributaries that once fed into the river, according to Sonny Hinojosa, a retired irrigation district manager.
Hinojosa said the U.S. government needs to get directly involved in pressuring Mexico to comply with the 1944 Water Treaty.
“Mexico has very little water right now, but they do have some. And otherwise, they wouldn't have negotiated for this '202,000 acre-feet,' which, by the way, has not been delivered yet. But that's what we're hopeful for, is to get Mexico to recognize their treaty commitments to the Rio Grande,” Hinojosa said.
Mexico is expected to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. over five years, averaged across a cycle. Texas regulators say Mexico’s shortfalls force water users to secure alternatives or reduce use.
