Mexico has begun the first delivery of water volumes committed to the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty, with the initial flow directed to the Marte R. Gómez Dam in the state of Tamaulipas. The dam will serve as a key diversion point for meeting the binational agreement between the two countries.
The initial volume amounts to 249 million cubic meters of water and is part of Mexico’s outstanding obligation under the treaty. According to the agreed binational schedule, this delivery must be completed no later than January 31, 2026, which marks the deadline for fulfilling commitments within the current five-year cycle.
Juan Manuel Salinas Sánchez, manager of the Northern Tamaulipas Regional Agricultural Union (UARNT), explained that this transfer represents “the first part of the payment” toward Mexico’s water debt. However, he noted that the outstanding balance still exceeds 800 million cubic meters. He added that the treaty framework allows flexibility to cover the remaining volume during the next five-year period, provided that conditions of severe drought are officially recognized.
The Marte R. Gómez Dam, also known as El Azúcar, is located in the municipality of Camargo and stores water from the San Juan and Álamo rivers. Its infrastructure is critical for agricultural irrigation, supplying approximately 73,451 hectares within Irrigation District 026 Río San Juan, one of the most important farming zones in northern Tamaulipas.
Under the current delivery design, the dam plays a central role as a hydraulic hub for diverting water toward treaty compliance. This has once again placed water management at the center of agricultural planning for the region. According to a report by the UARNT, Irrigation District 026 currently maintains stable conditions to support the ongoing agricultural cycle.
In contrast, Irrigation District 025 Bajo Río Bravo faces a more fragile scenario due to low reservoir levels and the added pressure generated by international water obligations. This district covers municipalities such as Matamoros, Valle Hermoso, Río Bravo, and Reynosa, and depends primarily on flows from the Rio Grande stored in the international reservoirs La Amistad and Falcon, as well as diversion dams such as Anzaldúas and El Retamal.
