Legislation has been filed by Sen. Ted Cruz to strengthen enforcement of the 1944 Water Treaty and ensure agricultural producers in South Texas have an adequate water supply.
The Ensuring Predictable and Reliable Water Deliveries Act of 2025, authored by Cruz and sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, would limit U.S. engagement with the Mexican government until it provides the full amount of water required by the treaty from the Rio Grande, Colorado, and Tijuana Rivers to the Rio Grande Valley.
Currently, Mexico has not met its five-year water delivery requirement of 1.75 million acre-feet. Only about 50 percent of this amount was delivered by October 24, the deadline outlined by the treaty.
“Mexico has consistently failed to meet its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty, cycle after cycle,” said Cruz in a statement. “The Mexican government exploits the structure of the treaty to defer and delay its deliveries in each individual year until it becomes impossible for it to meet its overall obligations, and it continues to fail to meet its obligation to deliver water to the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty.”
The measure would require the secretary of state to report to Congress on the status of water delivery 180 days after the legislation’s passage and annually thereafter. The report would state whether Mexico has delivered the 350,000 acre-feet of water due from the previous year and whether Mexico has the ability to deliver the 1.75 million acre-feet of water in the relevant five-year period.
If the report shows that Mexico has not met the treaty’s requirements, the president would be allowed to deny all of Mexico’s non-treaty requests and limit or end engagement with regard to the points identified in the report.
This comes after U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting inclusion of the 1944 Water Treaty in the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement negotiations and asking that the Mexican government be pressured to deliver 350,000 acre-feet of water within the next six months.
De La Cruz also sent a request to the U.S. trade representative for recognition of the 1944 Water Treaty to be included in the USMCA negotiations. This agreement is currently under negotiation, as it expires in July 2026.
According to the USDA, the USMCA was first enacted in July 2020 and “makes a good trade relationship even better, ensuring preferential market access for U.S. farm and food products and solidifying commitments to fair and science-based trade rules.”
Secretary Rollins posted on X that she met with the president of Mexico last week and discussed the treaty.
“While Mexico has begun to meet its commitment to get water flowing, it’s still not enough, and we will continue to work on this incredibly important issue,” said Rollins. “I value our friendship with Mexico — but a promise is a promise. It’s time for Mexico to deliver the water our border communities were guaranteed!”
Since 1994, Mexico has failed multiple times to deliver its full amount of water within the five-year cycle. Under the treaty, any water deficit must be made up within the subsequent cycle.
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