US denies Mexico water delivery request, citing treaty violations

For the archetypal clip since the Treaty connected Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande was signed successful 1944, the U.S. has denied a petition by Mexico for h2o delivery.

Mexico was seeking support for the instauration of a peculiar transportation transmission for Colorado River h2o to beryllium delivered to Tijuana. As overmuch of northwest Mexico faces terrible drought, the denial is apt to spot adjacent much accent connected Baja California’s h2o system.

Under erstwhile h2o agreements, Mexico whitethorn petition — and wage for — exigency h2o deliveries to the Tijuana country often via the Morelos Dam adjacent Mexicali. (Tercero Díaz/Cuartoscuro)

The 1944 U.S.-Mexico h2o pact governs h2o allocation from the Rio Grande (also known arsenic the Río Bravo) and Colorado River, the 2 main rivers successful the southwestern United States and bluish Mexico.

The U.S. Department of State connected Thursday said the U.S. has taken the unprecedented measurement of denying Mexico’s non-treaty petition for the water.

In a connection posted to societal media, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs defended the determination by saying that “Mexico’s continued shortfalls successful its h2o deliveries … are decimating American agriculture” portion claiming that the farmers successful the Rio Grande Valley of Texas are suffering arsenic a result.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry did not respond to reporters’ requests for remark astir the U.S. decision. However, during her Friday greeting property league President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted Mexico is making disposable the corresponding h2o quotas arsenic defined by the treaty.

Mexico’s continued shortfalls successful its h2o deliveries nether the 1944 water-sharing pact are decimating American agriculture–particularly farmers successful the Rio Grande valley. As a result, contiguous for the archetypal time, the U.S. volition contradict Mexico’s non-treaty petition for a special…

— Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (@WHAAsstSecty) March 20, 2025

The president made her comments earlier the State Department issued its statement.

While admitting that drought and h2o shortages are portion of the problem, Sheinbaum  described the contented arsenic “an important 1 that is being addressed” by the National Water Commission (Conagua) and the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC).

The IBWC is tasked with determining the planetary bound and applying h2o treaties of the United States and Mexico and settling differences that whitethorn originate successful their application. (The Mexico-U.S. bound is mostly defined by the Rio Grande, which occasionally shifts its course.)

Under the 1944 Treaty, Mexico is required to transportation h2o to the United States each 5 years from 2 shared dams connected the Texas border.

Meeting the quotas has been problematic successful caller years for Mexico owed to drought exacerbated by  clime change, arsenic good arsenic by the summation successful agriculture successful parched areas of some countries. Aging infrastructure and important h2o discarded person besides contributed to the shortfall.

Mexico is obligated to present 1.75 cardinal acre-feet of h2o to the US implicit a five-year cycle, averaging 350,000 acre-feet annually. The existent rhythm ends successful October 2025.

Like overmuch occidental h2o law, the 1944 pact was signed astatine a clip erstwhile h2o was much plentiful successful the northwest Mexico and the U.S. southwest. (Texas Farm Bureau)

The 1944 pact specifies that successful the lawsuit of bonzer drought oregon harm to hydraulic systems connected Mexico’s broadside which makes it hard for Mexico to conscionable its quota, deficiencies existing astatine the extremity of a five-year rhythm shall beryllium made up successful the pursuing five-year cycle.

Mexico was astir 265 cardinal gallons of h2o down connected its deliveries successful August of past year, prompting the U.S. commissioner astatine the IBWC, Maria-Elena Giner to remark that Mexico was “at its lowest levels ever” successful the treaty’s history.

In November, the 2 countries hammered retired an statement that reportedly provided Mexico with tools and flexibility to present h2o earlier successful the five-year cycle. Among the projected tools were amended coordination regarding h2o conservation, re-use and alternate h2o sources.

Even so, Giner warned past that Mexico is truthful acold down successful deliveries that “it volition beryllium precise difficult, if not statistically impossible, for them to marque up that difference.”

Now it appears that the U.S. authorities is consenting to ramp up a caller conflict with the Mexican government, which has dodged U.S. tariff threats doubly since Donald Trump became U.S. president connected Jan. 20. Though immoderate tariffs person gone into effect, Mexico has yet to retaliate.

With reports from La Jornada, The Guardian, Reuters and NPR

What to larn much astir Mexico’s astir pressing h2o issues? Check retired our Water successful Mexico series.