New US-Mexico water agreement means reduced allotments but a heathier Colorado River

A new water agreement between the United States and Mexico, known as Minute 334, has been signed to address long-standing disputes over the Colorado River's water-sharing. The U.S. and Mexico both receive reduced water allocations for two years as part of this joint effort to combat ongoing drought conditions and low reservoir levels.

Under the new Minute 334, Mexico's annual water allowance of 250,000 acre-feet is reduced by 16.7%, which is equivalent to the water-use reductions imposed on U.S. Lower Basin states (Arizona, California, and Nevada). The agreement also focuses on managing the salinity of Colorado River water reaching Mexico.

Mexican IBWC Commissioner Adriana Reséndez and her U.S. counterpart, Chad McIntosh, signed the new agreement on September 2, 2026, in El Paso, Texas. Mexican IBWC Secretary Manuel Morales participated in the signing ceremony. U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Chad McIntosh stated that the Minute ensures a fair distribution of water among users and protects the health of the Colorado River during these challenging times.

Reséndez emphasized the importance of proportionality, highlighting Mexico's efforts to meet its obligations under the original 1944 treaty. Mexico owed 865,136 acre-feet of water at the end of the most recent five-year cycle of the treaty, but the terms of the treaty allow for a five-year grace period to catch up.

The reduction agreed upon in Minute 334 represents one-sixth of Mexico's annual allocation established in the treaty, approximately 1.85 billion cubic meters. In addition to the water allocation changes, the two nations agreed to collaborate on managing the Colorado River Delta in Mexico. This area, once a lush 2-million-acre wetland, has transformed into a mostly dry salt flat due to decades of upstream dam construction and water diversions.