Water wars: A historic agreement between Mexico and US is ramping up border tension
July 28, 2025
by Natasha Lindstaedt, The Conversation
edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Andrew Zinin
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship.
Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, in keeping with a water-sharing agreement between the two countries that has been in place since 1944 (agreements between the two regulating water sharing have existed since the 19th century).
As part of this 1944 treaty, set up when water was not as scarce as it is now, the two nations divide and share the flows from three rivers (the Rio Grande, the Colorado and the Tijuana) that range along their 2,000-mile border. The process is overseen by the International Boundary and Water Commission.
Mexico must send 430 million cubic meters of water per year from the Rio Grande to the US, while the US must send nearly 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River to support the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali.
More:
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-wars-historic-agreement-mexico-ramping.html