With Rio Grande Dwindling, New Mexico, Texas, And Colorado Negotiate New Compact
The dwindling availability of Western source water is driving states to fight among themselves, but it’s also pushing them to cooperate like never before. Now, in one of the world’s most drought-plagued regions, three states are coming together to better share one of the nation’s most iconic source water bodies.
“After a nearly decade-long battle over the waters of the Rio Grande, the case has reached an important legal milestone,” KCBD reported. “The States of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado have reached a historic agreement after nine years of litigation that, if finalized, will resolve the massive legal dispute between the States over how water from the Rio Grande is divided between southern New Mexico and west Texas.”
Shrinking drinking water supplies in recent years have prompted interstate conflicts, driving an Arizona official to call California consumption “reckless and unacceptable,” for instance. In the case of the Colorado River, the federal government has had to step in and mandate cuts, as states have been slow to agree upon voluntary reductions.
But ongoing water scarcity is also driving much-needed updates to long-standing water-sharing agreements, encouraging California to propose reducing consumption by as much as 130 billion gallons per year.
With drinking water becoming a more valuable commodity than ever, Texas filed a lawsuit over a 1938 Rio Grande Compact and the amount of supply it was entitled to. One stretch of the river supplies a major proportion of irrigation water for New Mexico’s agricultural industry, and is also home to major Texas municipalities which count on it for drinking water. For years, users of this source water could not agree on who was getting their fair share.
“The battle over the Rio Grande has become a multimillion-dollar case in a region where water supplies are dwindling due to increased demand along with drought and warmer temperatures brought on by climate change,” according to NBC DFW. “Texas has argued that groundwater pumping in southern New Mexico is reducing the river’s flow and cutting into how much water makes it across the border. New Mexico argues that it has been shorted on its share of the river.”
But it now appears that Texas and New Mexico, as well as Colorado, have reached an agreement to settle the suit, though details of how it might change were not immediately available. The federal U.S. is also entitled to a portion of the water, which it delivers to Mexico as part of an international treaty, and may have to sign off on any legal changes to the agreement.
Regardless of details or what a final, revised compact for the Rio Grande looks like, it’s clear that water scarcity is compelling a change to decades-old water sharing agreements across the country.
“Like many river basins throughout the American West, we are approaching a crisis point,” environmental advocate Tricia Snyder said, per NBC DFW. “Climate change is throwing into sharp relief the cracks in western water management and policy and the unsustainable water allocation included in that.”
To read more about how drought is changing water policy throughout the U.S., visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.