HIDALGO COUNTY, Texas – Here in South Texas, we’re familiar with issues along the Texas and Mexico border.
But there’s another issue brewing between the two countries, one with which you may not be familiar. This time, it concerns water.
The end result: citrus farming, once a booming commodity in the Rio Grande Valley, may soon cease to exist.
“I think if nothing changes in the next year or two, we could see that it’s definitely something that we’re starting to talk about, unfortunately,” said longtime Rio Grande Valley area farmer Matt Klosterman. “Citrus is kind of on the chopping block. It requires quite a bit of water.”
Water is where this whole story goes south — literally.
What is the 1944 Water Treaty?
“The 1944 Water Treaty is a treaty that actually covers three watersheds,” said International Boundary Water Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner.
Those three watersheds are the Colorado River out West, the northern section of the Rio Grande and the southern segment of the Rio Grande, all shared by the two countries.
According to the International Boundary Water Commission, which manages the boundary and water treaties of the United States, it is a water treaty for the “utilization of waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande.”
It sets rules for distributing the waters in the international segment of the Rio Grande from Fort Quitman, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico.
In other words, Mexico and the United States drew up rules for how the water in the Rio Grande was to be allocated fairly.
“About 50% of the water is supplied from the Mexican side,” Giner said. “Mexico has five years to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet.”
That’s because the treaty works in five-year cycles.
What is the issue?
“We are in year four of this 1944 water treaty, and Mexico has a very high probability of ending the five-year cycle in deficit,” Giner said.
While still technically in compliance, barring a miracle, Mexico does not seem likely to fulfill its side of the bargain.
“Since 1992, Mexico has a had a repeated history of not complying with the treaty,” said Carlos Rubenstein, a former watermaster of the Rio Grande.
Texas has four Watermasters, covering four major river basins.
“Particular to the Rio Grande, the watermaster is in charge of ensuring that the water rights are utilized as they are authorized,” Rubenstein said.
Water metered out through dams at Amistad Reservoir and Falcon Reservoir must be distributed to meet municipal, domestic, industrial and irrigation demands.
It’s important to note that this only applies to deep South Texas. San Antonio uses mainly groundwater and does not utilize the Rio Grande.
Due to the makeup of the groundwater, the Rio Grande Valley cannot operate that way. Additionally, desalination is not cost-effective. So, to make sure everyone in the Rio Grande Valley gets their cut, it is divided into several irrigation districts that are allocated water. In turn, they allocate that water to municipalities, industry and farmers.
Why it matters
Mexico’s lack of contribution has led to well-below-average water allocation to area irrigation districts. The industry hit hardest is farming.
“My fear is we will be totally out of water come the end of, probably the end of December,” said Troy Allen, who runs the Delta Lake Irrigation District, which lies just north of Weslaco.
Rainfall would help, but it’s been hard to come by this year, leaving Allen in a tense situation.
“There (are) nights I just lay in bed, thinking, ‘What’s going to happen if we run out of water?’”
Farmers may have to make the tough decision as to whether or not to plant or hope for something to change.
Sugar mill closure
Citrus may soon be a casualty due to the lack of water. However, it’s the Rio Grande Valley’s sugar industry that went first.
That was a huge loss for the economy. The last remaining sugar mill in Texas closed in February and is currently abandoned.
“Just recently here, this past year, we as growers lost our sugar industry,” said Klosterman. “It’s something that had been here for over 50 years. (It’s) another crop that required a larger amount of water, but at the same time was also one of our higher revenue crops.”
What can be done?
“If we’re not going to have compliance in one basin, there should also be a corresponding lack of compliance in the other,” Rubenstein explained. “So if Mexico fails to deliver on the Rio Grande, then the United States should curtail its deliveries out of the Colorado, as an example. That’s an extreme measure. It’s something that’s never been done before.”
Chances are it won’t be done this time. That kind of move would likely get caught up in a web of state and federal issues.
“That water belongs to six U.S. states, and there’s not really a mechanism. The federal government operates the infrastructure, does the science, but there’s no mechanism for withholding that water,” said Giner.
Sanctions could lead to unintended consequences for other sectors of the economy, leaving Commissioner Giner in a tough spot to resolve the issue through diplomacy.
Giner is also working with her team to help Mexico find solutions to water infrastructure problems and provide more water. It’s worth noting that Mexican farmers are also hurting. Additionally, water in Mexico is owned by the federal government, unlike the United States, which leaves those rights to the states, further complicating the issue.
So, with hope for any changes in the short-term dimming, farmers are ironically praying for a hurricane to bring the heavy rainfall they need.
If you were curious, desalination has not proved cost-effective for the valley — at least not yet.
How does it affect you?
Should the citrus industry begin to decline, expect less locally grown produce in San Antonio’s supermarkets. Currently, many of the grapefruits you see are grown in the Rio Grande Valley. This may force grocery stores to outsource to other places and countries for produce.
This situation has left farmers frustrated and attempting new ways to survive.
“This really isn’t a new problem for us. It’s just exaggerated at the moment due to the lack of water. But, personally, I don’t feel we’re going to get a lot of help from our neighbors to the south,” said Klosterman.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner weighs in
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller recently told WFAA’s Inside Texas Politics that the state is out of water.
Citrus may soon be a casualty of the lack of water. However, it’s the valley’s sugar industry that went first.
“We’re out of water, especially in the Rio Grande Valley,” Miller told Inside Texas Politics on Sept. 8.
Listen to more of what Miller said here.