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The Rio Grande isn’t just a border—it’s a river in crisis

The Rio Grande, viewed from the Zaragoza International Bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
The Rio Grande, viewed from the Zaragoza International Bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Photo by Vianey Rueda.
By Vianey Rueda and Drew Gronewold | 
October 24, 2023

People often think of the Rio Grande as a political border between Mexico and the United States which presents issues with immigration or smuggling and trade. But there's a crisis on the river that gets a lot less attention, which is that the river is in decline and suffering from overuse, drought, and contentious water rights negotiations. As climate change makes the Southwest hotter and drier, it's predicted that water shortages will intensify. 

In a piece published in The Conversation, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) PhD student Vianey Rueda and Associate Professor Drew Gronewold describe the hidden water crisis, border politics that overshadow water shortages and how Mexico and the U.S. can better cooperate to deliver human, ecological and political benefits in the region. Read The Rio Grande isn't just a border — it's a river in crisis.

Gronewold is a hydrologist and Director of the new Global Center for Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Transboundary Waters. He recently recorded an "Ask an expert" video, in which he provides insight into some of the most-searched and frequently asked questions pertaining to water and hydrology.

Rueda is a second-year PhD student. Her research is focused on the 1944 Water Treaty between the United States and Mexico and uses an interdisciplinary lens to find alternative water delivery mechanisms for the Rio Grande that reduce treaty non-compliance and protect community needs in the face of climate change. As part of her research, Rueda spent some time visiting different areas of the Rio Grande river this past summer (see photos below).

Earlier this month, Rueda and Gronewold attended the Coalition of Rio Grande Water Users (CRGWU) inaugural conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The CRGWU meeting, themed "The Value of Collaboration," brought together various entities dependent on the Rio Grande to share their perspectives and ideas and to find solutions to challenges.

Vianey Rueda (left) with Tanya Trujillo (right) at the inaugural Coalition of Rio Grande Water Users in Santa Fe, NM.
Vianey Rueda (right) with Tanya Trujillo (left) at the inaugural Coalition of Rio Grande Water Users in Santa Fe, NM. Until recently, Trujillo was assistant secretary for water and science in the Department of the Interior and is now transitioning to local government in New Mexico. Photo by Caroline Polly Photography. 

 

The border wall in San Elizario, Texas, where Vianey Rueda grew up.
The border wall in San Elizario, Texas, where Vianey Rueda grew up. Rueda says that, even though she lived close to the river, she was never able to get to it physically because of the wall. To her, the wall obstructs the water crisis of the Rio Grande and is both a physical and metaphorical barrier to cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico. Rueda says that her hope is that contention over the border does not prevent cooperation over the Rio Grande river, which is in crisis. Photo by Vianey Rueda.

 

American Dam in El Paso, where Texas draws its share of water from the Rio Grande Compact.
Seen here is the American Dam in El Paso, where Texas draws its share of water from the Rio Grande Compact. This is where the Rio Grande becomes the southern border between Texas and Mexico. Vianey Rueda

 

Further downstream from the American Dam is the International Dam, pictured here, where Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, takes its share of water granted by the 1906 Convention.
Further downstream from the American Dam is the International Dam, pictured here, where Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, takes its share of water granted by the 1906 Convention.