Mexico is still far behind on payments made via ocean to the US border.
However, it did not reach the torrent that was anticipated far enough north to allow it to send water southward. This would have caused Mexican tributaries that supply the Rio Grande to swell.
McAllen Public Utility General Manager Mark Vega stated on Tuesday,” While the latest rains we have received were beneficial, the weather did not fall in the reservoir basin, which is important to replenish this ocean source.”
Falcon Dam, in Starr County, was at 12.5 % capacity on Tuesday, according to the latest information from the Texas Water Development Board. This is an improvement over the previous record-breaking 9.5 % on May 25 and is the direct outcome of the rain that fell on Tropical Storm Alberto, which made landfall in Mexico on June 20.
Amistad Reservoir, outside Del Rio, Texas, was at 24.5 % on Tuesday, the state water agency reports.
Experts warn that it will take much more rain to bolster water supplies if Mexico does n’t pay the water it owes to the United States and the Rio Grande during this current five-year cycle because both reservoirs are still regarded as critically low.
Mexico is required to give the United States 1.2 million acre-foot of water every five years under a 1944 foreign waters agreement. Although the present routine ends in October 2025, Mexico so far has simply paid really under 400, 000 acre- feet of water, just about one year’s worth, according to data from the U. S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission.
Earlier this year, the state’s only sugar factory in Santa Rosa, Texas, shut down because there’s not enough water for farmers to increase the desperate grain, and Hidalgo County remains in a drought crisis charter.
The remote ranching community of Zapata, Texas, which had been suffering for just a few inches from being unable to extract water from the shrinking Rio Grande, was relieved by the rains.
” The rain really helped out”, Ralph Treviño, water district manager for Zapata, told Border Report on Wednesday.
Almost 2 inches — 1.89 inches— fell in Zapata from June 18 -20, and Treviño said more rain hit upstream in San Ygnacio.
Altogether, Zapata got about 3 inches of rain from the tropical storm and lingering after effects, according to data from the National Weather Service.
” It’s been good news”, Treviño said. The waters “are making its way down” and “almost reached Eagle Pass and Laredo.”
Zapata’s drinking water comes directly from the Rio Grande before it enters Falcon International Reservoir, also known as Falcon Lake. The main intake pump for the water district is located on the Rio Grande, beneath a shed.
Levels at the intake pump went from 251.5 feet before the storm hit to 254.8 feet on Wednesday, Treviño said.
If the Rio Grande’s water levels dropped below 247 feet, the town was at risk of losing access to it.
He claimed that the rain also increased the capacity of the water holding reservoirs throughout the Rio Grande Valley, reducing the need for water to be released from the international river and allowing the two main reservoirs to hold and increase capacity.
Zapata, however, remained at Stage 3 water conservation restrictions. For the time being, is not in danger of moving to Stage 4.
McAllen, about 100 miles downstream, remains at Stage 2 water restrictions after receiving a record 4.29 inches of rain associated with the tropical storm. Residents and businesses can only drink water once per week and only on certain days, depending on their home.
” It is crucial that as residents of the community, we adhere to the mandatory water restrictions out of necessity to ensure a continued adequate supply and pressure for the upcoming months,” Vega said.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at [email protected].
