US, Mexico cut Colorado River deal 17%

Forty million individuals in the United States and Mexico rely on the Colorado River system for their water needs – be it for drinking, municipal supply, or agricultural irrigation. Since 1944, both nations have strictly adhered to the Water Treaty, which promises Mexico an annual delivery of 1.5 million acre-feet of water during normal conditions.

Recently, US and Mexican water officials signed a new agreement – known formally as Minute 334 – that will see Mexico receive less water from the river, marking a rare success story in cross-border cooperation despite the waterway's growing strain.

The Colorado River, originating from the Rocky Mountains, once flowed into the Pacific Ocean along Mexico's coastline. However, heavy water use by cities and farms in the American Southwest has left it rarely reaching the sea for decades. This new agreement, Minute 334, was signed on September 2 in El Paso, Texas, by US IBWC Commissioner Chad McIntosh, Secretary Sally Spener, and their Mexican counterparts Commissioner Adriana Reséndez and Secretary Manuel Morales.

Minute 334, which will be in effect from the start of 2027 through the end of 2028, sees Mexico absorb its largest cuts yet, reducing its allocation by 250,000 acre-feet, about 17% of its original share – a quantity comparable to more than 100,000 Olympic swimming pools worth of water. The agreement also allows Mexico to temporarily defer part of its delivery and store it in Lake Mead, albeit the stored water becomes inaccessible if Lake Mead's level falls below 1,025 feet on January 1.

A clause in the agreement permits further reductions if Lake Mead is predicted to drop below 1,000 feet.

Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River programs director at the National Audubon Society, praised Mexico's willingness to take a larger cut, emphasizing the deal's benefits in an era of numerous geopolitical issues. Carlos de la Parra, managing partner of the Mexico-based Luken Centre for Strategies on Water and Environment, credited the binational negotiating process, which involves in-person visits to water infrastructure on both sides of the border, for the successful agreement. This process, de la Parra argues, provides valuable lessons for other areas of US-Mexico relations.