Water shortage in Valley again fuels tensions with Mexico

Rio Grande Valley irrigation manager Jo Jo White examines the dry soil in a field. Rio Grande Valley irrigation manager Jo Jo White examines the dry soil in a field. Photo: Delcia Lopez / For The San Antonio Express-News Photo: Delcia Lopez / For The San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Water shortage in Valley again fuels tensions with Mexico 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Rio Grande Valley irrigation manager Jo Jo White remembers clearly how ugly things got about a decade ago, when drought left Mexico without the water it needed to supply what it owed the U.S. under a 1944 treaty.

Fields on the U.S. side went dry. Angry farmers staged a “tractor-cade” at an international bridge. Local leaders put pressure on congressmen. Congressmen put pressure on the State Department.

At its most severe, Mexico's water debt accumulated to 1.5 million acre-feet, or enough water to flood 1.5 million acres a foot deep.

Abundant rains starting in 2003 did what months of diplomacy could not: refill Rio Grande reservoirs, providing Mexico with the water it needed to make good on its debt.

The story of the Rio Grande is one of drought followed by deluge — and White and others predicted the Mexican water debt would return as soon as things dried out.

Going into the spring, the situation appears worse than ever, and this time cities are at risk.

Farmers already are running out of water, and since irrigation water “carries” municipal water through the Valley's vast system of irrigation canals, 13 cities and two municipal suppliers have gotten letters warning that their water may soon run out.

“In view of current drought conditions, this letter is to advise you of the possibility that the District may run out of irrigation water allocation within the next 60 days,” White wrote in a letter to six cities in the Hidalgo and Cameron Counties Irrigation District No. 9.

“We rely on irrigation water to maintain our delivery system and (keep) canals charged so as to convey your domestic, municipal and/or industrial water. In essence, (municipalities') water 'rides' on top of irrigation water.”

Valley officials such as Leonardo Olivarez, city manager for Weslaco, are in crisis mode. They're attending emergency meetings with state officials, searching for water to buy and ways to pay for it, and seeing if they can tap old, brackish wells.

“There have been droughts before, but in terms of us running out of the ag water to transport our supply, I don't recollect that ever being an issue,” he said. “We have some identified options, but we're not there yet.... Basically, there's a team effort going on down here, but we really do need Mexico to release their water. Please send us water. Agua, por favor, agua hoy (Water, please, water today).”

Donna farmer Jimmie Steidinger, who has been growing citrus, sugar cane, and grain on his property for 50 years, is leaving much of his land unplanted and letting many of his trees wither.

“Out of 500 acres, I've got water for about 120 acres,” he said. “It's going to affect everybody down here. Every farmer and grower is going to be hurt by this thing.”

During the last water shortage, Mexican officials said they simply didn't have any water to spare. Ricardo Alday, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, declined comment for this report.

Texans only can hope their counterparts will find a way to share precious supplies this time around.

Back to crisis mode

To White, it's turning into a replay of the last crisis over Mexico's water debt.

Under the 1944 treaty, the U.S. and Mexico share water from both the Colorado River and Rio Grande. But the treaty was written in a different era, and it so far hasn't held up against the needs of northern Mexico's rapidly expanding agricultural sector.

“We're just starting the dry season, and our supplies are down to nothing,” White said. “It's a very, very serious situation. And what adds another drama to all this is if we run out of irrigation water, we lose our ability to get the water to the cities.”

The situation didn't turn dire overnight. Historic flooding in 2010 filled Falcon Lake reservoir to record levels. But both 2011 and 2012 were dryer than anyone anticipated, and water that farmers thought would be delivered from Mexican tributaries didn't arrive.

State water officials have been down for meetings to help municipalities find and purchase water to “push” their supplies.

Options so far include re-digging old wells and teaming with farmers and other cities to purchase push water from areas with surplus water rights, though surpluses are getting harder to find.

The city of Raymondville, for example, uses about 2 acre-feet of water a day. But that water has to travel 52 miles, Rio Grande Regional Water Authority Director Joe Barrera said.

“They have to push 500 acre-feet 52 miles for Raymondville to take 2 acre-feet out of it,” he said.

The easiest solution would be getting Mexico to release enough water to catch up on annual payments of about 350,000 acre-feet.

By that measure, Mexico now is behind by about 410,000 acre-feet, which is enough to meet the municipal needs of the Valley, with a population of 1.1 million, for two years.

State, local, and federal representatives are meeting with State Department officials Monday, hoping to force the issue.

Five-year cycles

But the treaty works in five-year cycles, not one-year cycles, said Sally Spener, spokeswoman for the U.S. side of the International Boundary and Water Commission, which oversees the water agreements. So Mexico technically is not in arrears.

Since the current cycle started Oct. 25, 2010, Mexico has until Oct. 24, 2015, to complete delivery of a minimum annual average of 350,000 acre-feet, for a total of about 1.75 million acre-feet.

“The treaty was specially crafted that way because the Rio Grande system was studied before the treaty provisions were agreed to, and it was noted it was a highly variable system,” Spener said.

Mexican reservoirs are low, too — down to about 39 percent on average, she said.

The commission and U.S. and Mexican governments, she added, are working on the issue.

“It is not in the interest of the United States or Mexico for the deficit to continue to grow, and so we are proactively working together to address the needs to ensure treaty compliance,” Spener said. “And I think it's important to note that we're doing this halfway through the cycle, because we see we're halfway through with a deficit and we want to make sure that this issue is addressed early.”

State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-San Benito, is confirmed for the State Department meeting, as are U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville.

“The way water works is big rains, big storms, have bailed them out sometimes in the past and, we don't anticipate a lot of wet weather coming our way,” Lucio said. “Our segment, the U.S. side, has tried to be very good and courteous to Mexico in their times of need, and on 16 different occasions has delivered water to Mexico upon their request. I have yet in my office research been able to see where that has been reciprocated.”

Last spring, a U.S. delivery of water to Mexico upset officials with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality, who said it would cause substantial U.S. losses.

Vela said Mexico has a moral obligation to release more water.

“Standing idly by while South Texas continues to suffer is no way to treat a neighbor,” he said.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, weighed in with a March 4 letter urging IBWC Commissioner Edward Drusina do his part to “resolve the immediate threat of water shortages for Texas users.”

“Despite the concerted efforts by Texas officials to communicate with the IBWC and work toward a solution to address the growing water deficit, nothing has been resolved,” he wrote.

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Cornyn hinted at tougher tactics.

“There are enough carrots and sticks available to the United States government to encourage Mexico to live up to its responsibilities, and I hope they are skillfully applied,” he said.

lbrezosky@express-news.net