Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico and the United States announce agreement on Rio Grande water allocations under the 1944 Treaty. The governments of Mexico and the United States have reached an agreement to address the issue of Rio Grande water allocations.
The agreement involves the current five-year water delivery cycle, which began on October 25, 2020, and concludes on October 24 of this year. Mexico has agreed with the United States to implement a series of measures aimed at mitigating potential shortfalls in water deliveries from Mexico toward the end of the cycle, providing for immediate water transfers, as well as during the upcoming rainy season.
All of these actions have as their fundamental premise the assurance of water supplies for human consumption for the Mexican populations that depend on the waters of the Rio Grande.
The actions that will conclude at the end of this cycle were defined within the framework of technical meetings involving authorities from both countries and will be formalized within the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
The Mexican section of IBWC will also monitor both the implementation of these actions and the evolution of the basin’s conditions in conjunction with the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) with the goal of generating a plan for the next cycle of the 1944 Treaty that ensures compliance with Mexico’s commitments arising from this and the next cycle, including a mechanism for high-level annual consultations.
The governments of Mexico and the United States also agreed that the 1944 Treaty offers benefits to both countries, so its renegotiation is not considered necessary.
