The deepening speed of water shortage between the US and Mexico

After the thirtieth consecutive month without rain, the cities of San Francisco de Conhos in the Northern Mexican state of Chihuahua gather to plead for divine intervention.

On the shore of Lake Toronto, the reservoir behind the most important dam of the state – called La Boquilla, a priest leads the local horse farmers and their families in a prayer, the stony land under their feet, after part of the lake, before the waters withdraw to today’s critically low levels.

Among those with worshiped heads is Rafael Betans, who voluntarily watched La Boquilla for the State Water Administration for 35 years.

“All this should be underwater,” he says, heading for the dried space of open white rocks.

“The last time the dam was full and caused a tiny overflow, it was 2017,” recalls Betans. “Since then, it has been reduced by year by year.

“We are currently 26.52 meters below the high water brand, less than 14% of its capacity.”

No wonder the local community begs the sky for rain. Still, few expect any crippled drought and swollen 42C (107.6F) heat.

Now, the long -standing dispute with Texas because of the scarce resource is threatening to become ugly.

Under the terms of a 1944 water sharing agreement, Mexico must send 430 million cubic meters of water a year from Rio Grande to the United States.

The water is sent through a system of joining channels to shared dams owned and operated by the International Border and Water Committee (IBWC), which controls and regulates the sharing of water between the two neighbors.

In return, the United States is sending its own much more distribution (nearly 1.85 billion cubic meters a year) than the Colorado River to deliver the borders of the Mexican borders of Tijuana and Mexikali.

Mexico is in arrears and has not been able to keep up with water supplies for much of the 21st century.

Following the pressure of the Republican MPs in Texas, the Trump administration has warned Mexico that the water can be detained by the Colorado River unless it does not fulfill its obligations under the 81-year contract.

In April, on his social account, US President Donald Trump accused Mexico of “theft” of water and threatened to continue escalating to “tariffs and maybe even sanctions” until Mexico sends Texas what he owes. However, he did not give a firm time when such revenge could happen.

For its part, Mexican President Claudia Shainbaum acknowledged Mexico’s shortage, but achieved a more prudent tone.

Since then, Mexico has transferred the original 75 million cubic meters of water to the United States through their shared Amistad dam, located along the border, but this is only part of approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters from Mexico’s exclusive debt.

The feelings of cross -border water sharing can develop dangerously high: in September 2020, two Mexican souls were killed in clashes with the National Guard at La Boquilla’s Sluice Gates while farmers tried to stop the water to be redirected.

Against the backdrop of the sharp drought, the prevailing opinion in Chihuahua is that “you cannot take from what you are missing,” says local expert Rafael Betans.

But that doesn’t help Brian Jones water his crops.

Fourth -generation farmer in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, in the last three years he has been able to plant only half of his farm as there is not enough water to irrigate.

“We fought with Mexico as they did not live in their part of the deal,” he says. “All we want is what is rightly our under the contract, nothing extra.”

D -Jones also disputes the degree of the problem in Chihuahua. He believes that in October 2022, the state received more than enough water to share, but released the United States, accusing its neighbors of “water harvesting and using it for cultivation of crop to compete with us”.

Mexican farmers read the agreement differently. They say that this only binds them to send water to the north when Mexico can meet their own needs and claim that the continuing drought of Chihuahua means that there is no excess.

Beyond the shortage of water, there are arguments for agricultural efficiency.

Walnut trees and alfalfa are two of the main crops in the Rio Conhos Valley of Chihuahua, both require a lot of watering – the walnut trees need an average of 250 liters a day.

Traditionally, Mexican farmers have simply flooded their fields with water from the irrigation canal. Driving around the valley one quickly sees walnut trees sitting in shallow pools, water flows from an open pipe.

The complaint from Texas is obvious: the practice is wasteful and easily avoided with more responsible and sustainable methods of agriculture.

While Jaime Ramirez goes through his walnut groves, former San Francisco De Conhos mayor shows me how his modern sprinkler system guarantees that his trees are properly watered throughout the year without losing their precious resources.

“With sprinklers we use about 60% less than flooding of the fields,” he says. The system also means that they can water trees less often, which is especially useful when Rio Conchos is too low to allow local irrigation.

Ramirez is willing to admit that some of his neighbors are not so conscientious. As a former local mayor, he calls for understanding.

Some have not accepted the sprinkler method because of the cost of adjusting it, he says. He is trying to show other farmers that this works more cheap in the long run, saving energy and water costs.

But farmers in Texas also need to understand that their Chihuahua counterparts are facing an existential threat, insists on Ramirez.

“This is a desert region and the rains have not come. If the rain does not come again this year, then next year it will simply not remain agriculture. All available water will have to be preserved as drinking water for humans,” he warns.

Many in Northern Mexico believe that the water sharing contract of 1944 is no longer suitable for this purpose. Ramirez believes that it may be adequate for conditions eight decades ago, but has not been able to adapt over time or correctly take into account the growth of the population or the devastation of climate change.

Back across the border, the Texas farmer Brian Jones says the agreement withstood the time test and still needs to be awarded.

“This contract was signed when my grandfather was engaged in agriculture. My grandfather, my father and now me,” he says.

“Now we see Mexico disregarded. It is very angry to have a farm in which I can plant only half of the ground because I have no water for irrigation.”

Trump’s more difficult position was given to the local farmers Pep in our step, he adds.

Meanwhile, the land has not only harmed the farming in Chihuahua.

Since the levels of Toronto Lake are so low, Mr. Betans says that the rest of the water in the tank is heated at an unusual speed and creates a potential catastrophe for the marine life that once maintains a thriving tourism industry.

The prospects of the valley were not this terrible, says G -n Betans, all the time he spent carefully to record the ups and falls of the lake. “Praying for rain is all that is left,” he reasoned.

Additional reporting from Angelica Casas.