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Texas Agriculture Archive

October 18, 2002

Strong action needed
on water treaty

By Donald Patman
President, Texas Farm Bureau

We live in strange times. Some people, and some nations, no longer seem bound by their word. Some people, and some nations, do not honor their commitments.

According to the terms of the U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty of 1944, the United States is required to allow 1.5-million acre-feet of water per year to flow from the Colorado River into Mexico.

Mexico is obligated by the terms of the treaty to allow less than a quarter of that amount to flow into the Rio Grande River, about 350,000 acre-feet per year, for use in Texas. The U.S. has complied with the treaty's terms. Mexico has not.

The treaty's latest five-year cycle expired on October 2.

Mexico has not met obligations for the last two five-year cycles, and currently owes the U.S. more than 1.5 million acre-feet of water. Mexico's failure to comply has cost agriculture in the Texas Rio Grande Valley millions of dollars.

As you might expect, Mexico says they simply do not have the water. Satellite photography, however, tells a different story.

I have discussed this issue with Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs. She has viewed the satellite pictures and is convinced that Mexico either has the water, or illegally withheld it for agricultural use in the interior of Mexico.

Our own government has been less that forceful in this issue. Mexico has never received more than a slap on the wrist from the State Department. I wrote a letter to President Bush on October 2. I asked that steps be taken to declare that Mexico is officially "out of compliance" with the treaty. Clearly, Mexico IS out of compliance, and there is growing evidence that this is a deliberate act.

I have stated before that our government should examine alternatives that would give Mexico the opportunity to rethink this important issue. The range of options could include withholding water on our side of the border, from the Colorado River. Since we have serious questions as to whether Mexico can be trusted, perhaps we should look at the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in light of these developments.

We cannot assume that Mexico will do the right thing, and faced with a mild response from the U.S. government, they might well feel that additional shenanigans will receive the same slap on the wrist.

An official declaration that Mexico is out of compliance with the U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty is the first step. We may need more.