Urging the U.S. Department of State and the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission to take appropriate action to ensure that Mexico complies with the 1944 Treaty regarding shared water resources.

89(R) HCR 77 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

89R13075 BPG-D

By: Longoria, Gámez, Canales, Tepper,

H.C.R. No. 77

Harris , et al.

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Mexico's failure to fulfill its water deliveries to

the United States according to the stipulations of a 1944 treaty

between the two countries significantly harms the interests of

Texas; and

WHEREAS, The Rio Grande is both an interstate and

international river arising in the mountains of Colorado and

flowing in a southerly direction through New Mexico, where it forms

the border between the United States and Mexico beginning near

El Paso; the river is a shared and vital resource providing

municipal water for millions of Texans and irrigation water for

hundreds of thousands of acres in Texas; and

WHEREAS, Below Fort Quitman, the waters of the Rio Grande are

apportioned to the United States and to Mexico per the terms of the

1944 Treaty, "Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana

Rivers and of the Rio Grande"; Article IV of the treaty requires

that inflows from certain named tributaries of the Rio Grande be

apportioned one-third to the United States and two-thirds to

Mexico; and

WHEREAS, The 1944 Treaty specifically requires that "this

third shall not be less, as an average amount in cycles of five

consecutive years, than 350,000 acre-feet (431,721,000 cubic

meters) annually"; Mexico is allowed to deliver less than this

annual average amount of water during a five-year cycle only in the

event of an extraordinary drought, and not all years in a delivery

cycle reflect extraordinary drought conditions; and

WHEREAS, Many municipal, industrial, and agricultural water

users in Texas rely almost exclusively on these waters from the Rio

Grande for their water supplies; it is thus critical to the state's

interests that, during years in which extraordinary drought is not

present, Mexico take all necessary measures to address accumulated

water delivery deficits; and

WHEREAS, Mexico has failed to comply with its obligations

under this treaty regularly over the last three decades, and it is

now significantly behind in fulfilling them; in the current cycle,

Mexico is 984,814 acre-feet in arrears; and

WHEREAS, During the past 10 years, Mexico has expanded crop

production in Chihuahua, resulting in the use of water volumes

exceeding the annual average Mexico agreed to deliver under the

treaty; this increase has directly impacted water availability for

downstream users in the RGV, creating economic and environmental

concerns; the water reserves in the Amistad and Falcon reservoirs

are at historically low levels; shortages have disrupted key

sectors, leading to the loss of sugarcane production, significant

reductions in fruit and vegetable farming, and stalled housing

developments; the only sugar mill in Texas closed permanently in

2024; moreover, rural municipalities have been forced to purchase

water from outside districts, incurring up to 60 percent higher

monthly costs; and

WHEREAS, The 1944 Treaty requires that the United States

Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, which

is a subdivision of the United States Department of State, ensure

compliance with the terms of the 1944 Treaty; and

WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has

conveyed and communicated these issues and concerns to the

International Boundary and Water Commission, and it is vital that

the IBWC and the state department recognize the critical

socioeconomic importance of this issue; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas

hereby respectfully urge the U.S. Department of State and the

United States Section of the International Boundary and Water

Commission to take appropriate action to ensure that Mexico

complies with the 1944 Treaty regarding shared water resources and

that they take all necessary steps to make deliveries to the United

States a priority during annual water allocation deliberations;

and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official

copies of this resolution to the U.S. secretary of state and to the

commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission,

United States and Mexico.