AGRICULTURE
Water is the lifeblood of Texas agriculture, and nowhere is that more critical than in the Rio Grande Valley. For too long, we’ve been at the mercy of Mexico, waiting for them to deliver on empty promises stemming back to a water treaty negotiated in 1944 — eighty years ago. Mexico has now fallen behind, once again, in providing more than 900,000 acrefeet, or about 1.1 billion cubic meters of water that is owed to Texas and the U.S., and again, they’ve shown they can’t be trusted as reliable partners. It’s time to stop whining about it and act. Texans need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, take charge and secure our water supply.
While I’ve called on the Biden-Harris Administration to put the heat on Mexico to hold up their end of the 1944 Water Treaty, we all know better than to count on them to get the job done. The last sugar mill in Texas shut down due to water shortages, and our citrus industry is barely hanging on. We can’t let this continue. It’s time to bring some “cowboy logic” back to the situation and start taking smart, decisive action on water management. Our farmers, ranchers, and cities depend on us doing so if we are going to continue to help feed and fuel our nation.
