Water scarcity on South Texas border hurting agriculture [Video]

MISSION, Texas (Border Report) — The South Texas border town of Mission is known as the “Home of the Grapefruit.”

But the sight of grapefruit, lemon and orange groves could soon be no more as water scarcity is beginning to affect the citrus industry here significantly, and other Rio Grande Valley towns and communities are having to adjust because of Mexico’s inability to pay the United States water it owes.

So far, Mexico has paid barely one year’s worth of water in the current five-year water cycle, which ends in October 2025, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission.

Under a 1944 international treaty, Mexico must deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water by the deadline, an average of about 350,000 acre-feet per year. But as of Saturday, Mexico has only paid 382,538 acre-feet of water, and with just 19 months to go, border lawmakers do not believe Mexico will pay its debt in time.

Last month, Texas’ only sugar …