It was going to happen eventually. Both Mexico and the United States share water from the Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers with a treaty going back to 1944.
When the treaty was signed, the allotments didn't measure reality. Nothing at the time could take into account the increasing needs of water, and the scarcity of the water at the same time. There was no way to deal with droughts.
So, Donald Trump decided to stick his nose in it and tell Mexico that they weren't going to get the 1.5 million acre feet that is supposed to be delivered from the Colorado River each year.
He's right, in a sense, because Mexico isn't keeping their part of the bargain. Problem is that they can't deliver the water without hurting their own ability to survive.
We already know that Donald has a water fetish with his executive order on shower heads. Soon there will be ones on toilets and water faucets. But this is a real, not manufactured, problem.
But, he still found a way to blame it all on "Sleepy Joe." Joe Biden must be feeling like a punching bag by now. I'm surprised he didn't blame his stock market crash on Joe Biden.
The Rio Grande starts in Colorado, goes through New Mexico, then runs along the borders of Texas and Mexico, then empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
Who gets the water going past two countries? How is that shared?
The Colorado River is a different problem.
That's what feeds Lake Mead and Lake Powell, essentially two huge reservoirs.
The water finally getting to Baja California is what Trump is shutting off. In fact, he shut them off last month.
Things would work a a lot better if negotiations were done instead of threats. The problem for Mexico is sharing water they need themselves. The real solution would have been years ago to put a cap on farming and population needing the water. But who knew what would happen in the future?
The reason there isn't enough water for everyone is because of climate change, something Donald Trump will never acknowledge. Last year there was fear that the water in Lake Mead would go stagnant and it wouldn't flow through the hydroelectric Boulder Dam that generates electricity for Nevada, especially Las Vegas. Then there was enough rain to avoid that. Really, we need the water in both locations. Mexico needs both too.
Trump's threats of sanctions, tariffs and escalating consequences, which he does not spell out, aren't helping.
Maybe Trump should be talking about water conservation instead of threats against our neighbor. And we should be talking to them directly, not through a social media app.
