Sunrise along Falcon Reservoir was a special morning on my recent trip along the Rio Grande.
Temperatures were still in the 70s—with 105 coming later that day—and the early light was spreading across the water and mesquite trees. Birds were everywhere, drawn to this huge patch of water in an otherwise dry landscape. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful.
And fascinating.
Walking the shoreline, I kept thinking about how unusual it is to stand beside a body of water shared between two countries.
Falcon Dam was completed in the 1950s as a joint U.S.–Mexico project for water storage, flood control, and hydropower. The reservoir crosses the international border, and although it looks like one enormous lake, its water is divided between the two countries.
Texas has rights to about 59% of Falcon’s conservation capacity. When I was there in July, the Texas share was only about 24% full.
The international water situation adds another layer. Under a 1944 treaty, Mexico is supposed to provide the U.S. an average of 350,000 acre-feet a year, but it ended the most recent five-year cycle with a substantial deficit. The countries reached a new agreement this year for more predictable annual deliveries and repayment of that water debt.
Traveling around the country, especially out West, I’ve gotten pretty used to seeing low reservoirs and exposed shoreline. There was plenty of that at Falcon. Years of inadequate inflows and treaty deliveries, continued water use, and evaporation have left the reservoir deeply depleted.
Yet it was a great place to spend a sunrise—walking along the water, watching the birds, and getting a firsthand look at how the Rio Grande works.
Full episode coming on waterloop.
#ríogrande #reservoir #drought #water #waternews #watermanagement #waterloop
