RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - Veteran broadcaster Ron Whitlock, of Ron Whitlock Reports, recently interviewed U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar about Mexico’s water debt to the U.S.
Whitlock asked Cuellar if the U.S. should withhold water from Mexico in California, in retaliation for Mexico not releasing water into the Rio Grande. He also asked the Laredo congressman if he would support Laguna Madre Water District in its efforts to build a desalination plant that would provide potable water to the residents of South Padre Island. And he asked about building another dam on the Rio Grande.
Cuellar said Mexico's water debt should be discussed at the presidential level, just like trade and migration is.
"As time goes by, water is going to become more of a precious commodity. So, the questions you asked me, whether it's desalination, reservoirs, all that should be looked at very carefully," Cuellar told Whitlock.
Under a 1944 water sharing treaty, Mexico is committed to providing 350,000 acre feet of water a year. Mexico is badly in arrears in the current five year cycle. It owes the U.S. 1.3 million acre feet of water. The result has been devastating for South Texas farmers and ranchers. Texas’ last remaining sugar mill, in Santa Rosa, closed its doors last year due to insufficient water.
Here is an audio recording of the interview Whitlock secured with Rep. Cuellar.
