Video produced by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for presentation at the Western States Water Council Conference on March 23, 2021. By Aaron Gallup, TCEQ External Relations
The Rio Grande is a river with a history as deep as the canyons it has cut. Texas is proud of the Rio Grande River and its story is one to be shared. Amid stark surroundings, the river gives life. It provides drinking water to communities. It enables harvests of potatoes, chili peppers, and leafy greens. The river supports mining, power production, and other industry. It is the life blood of our communities…and our economies.
However, rivers don’t adhere to political boundaries and dividing their waters challenges political jurisdictions drawn across their watersheds. The Rio Grande is no different. Between the United States and Mexico, the 1944 Water Treaty establishes cooperative storage and use of the nations’ shared rivers, including nearly 1,200 stream miles of the Rio Grande from Fort Quitman to the Gulf.
Join TCEQ in exploring the history, majesty, challenges, and successes of this iconic river.