Before liquid payments are made, legislators want to withdraw funds from Mexico.
Over$ 9.5 million from the U. S. Department of Interior’s WaterSMART Drought Resiliency Project offers has been awarded to Santa Rosa, U. S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D- Texas, announced Thursday.
Gonzalez stated that” this money will go a long way in addressing Santa Rosa’s existing water supply problems.”
Due to a lack of water needed to grow the desperate flowers, Santa Rosa was hit severely when its honey factory, the only one in the position and the only one in the nation, shut down in February.
Over 500 jobs were lost as a result of the stoppage, which also led to a real awakening in the Rio Grande Valley that a looming water scarcity is a result of continued overcrowding, dryness, and water obligations from Mexico.
Under a 1944 water agreement, Mexico is supposed to give the United States 1.2 million hectares- feet of water over a five- time period. The current period ends in October 2025, but Mexico has n’t also paid 400, 000 hectares- feet of water to the Rio Grande, as of June 1, according to the U. S. International Boundary and Water Commission.
The funds will help Santa Rosa to create fresh water system, including ground and elevated storage tanks, a natural- water reservoir, and to interact with neighboring water suppliers in case of emergency.
In October of this year, the state’s water supply ran dry after an watering river burst, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency and leaving producers without water for their plants.
Gonzalez stated that” these changes will provide our people with a crucial buffer against unforeseen water supply emergencies.”
A bipartisan group of Texas politicians has demanded more severe punishment for Mexico for failing to pay its waters obligations.
House members include U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who in May wrote to top legislative leaders requesting that the United States withhold money from Mexico until they make water payments.
Gonzalez and Republican U. S. Reps. Monica De La Cruz, of McAllen, and Tony Gonzales, of San Antonio, along with Republican Sens. The email included Ted Cruz and John Cornyn as well.
De La Cruz made the announcement on Wednesday that they had secured language in an budget expenses that would forbid Mexican money for violating the agreement. The estimate passed a committee in the House on Tuesday, but it still needs to pass the whole House and Senate.
The Secretary of State certifies and information to the Committees on Appropriations that the United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to balance the deficit of ocean sales to the United States by Mexico, according to the bill’s provision.
Cuellar claims that the act would forgo funding to support Mexico’s border struggle against fentanyl.
” With the exceptions, limitations that it does n’t affect funding that helps Mexico fight fentanyl, and other drugs coming to the United States”, Cuellar told Border Report.
He argued, however, that communities along the border should really conserve water and have a backup plan for the Rio Grande in case it becomes dry.
” We just ca n’t rely on the Rio Grande as the only source of water,” I believe everyone should begin looking for alternative sources just in case. And particularly since we have big development, not only in company in the Valley, but likewise growth in population up and down the border”, Cuellar said.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at [email protected].
