McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Several billboards have been placed throughout the South Texas border town of Laredo touting the importance of the Rio Grande and preserving water quality for the residents north and south of the river.
The nonprofit Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC) and several community coalitions launched the 13 billboards to bring attention to the river, which they call a critical resource.
The also express opposition to any future border wall construction through Laredo.
“By focusing on land conservation and community celebration, we can create a healthier, more vibrant home for our children and their children,” Edgar Villasenor, RGISC advocacy campaign manager said in a statement.
“The Rio Grande is more than just a river; it is the lifeblood of our communities, providing water for drinking, agriculture, and industry,” said middle-school teacher Maxine Rebeles, who is a member of El Rio es Vida, and No Border Wall coalitions. “We must prioritize the protection and sustainable management of this crucial resource.”
The billboards read:
“The Border is Beautiful”
“Laredo is the 7th Safest City”
“No Border Wall; El Rio Es Vida” (The River is Life)
Laredo gets 100% of its water from the Rio Grande.”
Billboards have gone up throughout Laredo, Texas, touting the city and preserving the Rio Grande. (Photo Courtesy Rio Grande International Study Center)
The billboards focus on preserving the Rio Grande, which is currently dwindling due to drought, population growth and a lack of water payments from Mexico to the United States.
Under a 1944 water treaty, Mexico owes the United States 1.75 million acre-feet of water during a 5-year cycle. The current cycle expires in October 2025, and so far Mexico has paid less than 408,00 acre-feet, according to the latest data from the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC).
The South Texas region’s two water reservoirs have been critically low for most of this year.
Laredo is downriver from Amistad Reservoir, which is located near Del Rio. Amistad was only at 21% water capacity as of Wednesday, according to the IBWC.
Many towns and cities in South Texas are struggling to find future water sources. Some are looking to costly desalination plants, and/or underground aquifers and pipelines.
“The river is the solution,” said Mariana Salinas, a resident of the Barrio Azteca Historic District in Laredo, and president of the Zacate Creek Green District Coalition. “We want the city to invest in what we already have.”
“The consequences we face from inaction and mismanagement are experienced by both sides of the river. Our communities are at their strongest when we choose to work together,” said Oscar Lopez III, co-founder of El Rio Es Vida Coalition.
Laredo gets 100% of its drinking water from the Rio Grande. But if the current trends continue, the South Texas border city could run out of water by 2044.
Several members of the Laredo City Council last month attended the first Deep South Texas State of Water Symposium last month in Pharr, Texas.
Laredo City Councilwoman Melissa Cigarroa, a former board president for RGISC, told Border Report that she hopes to see a unified drought conservation plan to which all cities in South Texas can agree.
“This conversation has to continue. We are all facing the same conditions. We all depend on water from Lake Amistad,” Cigarroa said. “We’ve all been under the pressure from drought conditions and the really low levels and a lot of this has to do with the debt, the water debt from Mexico, that hasn’t yet been paid. So if we can come together as a region and begin to discuss these issues. Try to get our conservation measures so that we’re all talking the same language.”
Just this week, Hidalgo County officials convened a meeting in the border town of Mission with leaders from its 22 municipalities and water districts to try to get buy-in for a county-wide drought conservation plan.
Cigarroa says if South Texas is unified as a region, it can present this claim for unified state and federal funding, as well as “begin to approach our Mexican partners. And express our needs and how important the cooperation on the Mexican side is to fulfilling the water needs we have here in Texas.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.