Texas is Running Out of Water, Says Ag Commissioner [WATCH]
The Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, Sid Miller, warned that Texas is 'running out of water.'
That's a disturbing thing to hear. Many people in Longview and Tyler, Texas are leaning in to learn more about this crucial issue.
Newsweek posted a story that shared 'Parts of Texas have already run out of water, an agriculture commissioner has warned, amid the longstanding water crisis in the state.
Texas has been struggling with its water supply for some time, due to population growth, deteriorating infrastructure, and multiple droughts, especially the last two summers.'
Texas Ag Commissioner Miller also told WFAA's Inside Texas Politics that we're out of water. The hardest hit area so far is the Rio Grande Valley.
"We're out of water, especially in the Rio Grande Valley," he told WFAA's Inside Texas Politics.
According to Miller, this is a crisis. And the Rio Grande Valley is right on the emergent edge of it. The area is at the center of an international dispute with Mexico, which owes water to the Rio Grande under the 1944 Mexico-United States Water Treaty, formally known as the Treaty on the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande,' reports Newsweek.
A bit of context here: the treaty says Mexico should provide 350,000 acre-feet of water per year over a 5-year period. However, as of mid-August, Mexico has only provided 400, 100 acre-feet of water during this 5-year cycle we are currently in--and this cycle ends in October of 2025.
This data comes from the International Boundary and Water Commission.
Ag Commissioner Miller recommends Texas should seek to maximize the water sources we already have to optimize irrigation and reservoirs.
Here's the interview he did with WFAA:
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