The Texas water war

Published February 28, 2025 6:00am ET



At the Battle of San Jacinto, Texas, revolutionaries faced Mexican Gen. Santa Anna and his men in a fight that not only secured Texas independence but lived on in glory.

Nearly 200 years later, Texans are fighting another war with Mexico: The war for water.

Under the 1944 Water Treaty, the United States and Mexico agreed to share the waters of the Rio Grande. In turn, Mexico is obligated to deliver 350,000 acre-feet of water to the U.S. annually. 

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