The facts
The Rio Grande Compact, signed in 1938, allocates water among Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas along the 1,900-mile river.
Texas sued New Mexico in 2013, alleging excessive groundwater pumping near the border reduced Rio Grande flows owed to Texas under the compact.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 approved a settlement among the three states, ending more than a decade of litigation over Rio Grande water management.
The federal government had objected to the state settlement, arguing it could affect U.S. treaty obligations to deliver water to Mexico under a 1906 agreement.
The Rio Grande basin has experienced a multi-decade drought, with U.S. Bureau of Reclamation data showing reservoir storage at a fraction of historical averages.
Understand the issue
Civics quick read
Glossary
Interstate Compact
It's a contract between states, blessed by Congress, that locks in how they'll share something like a river or
Glossary
Prior Appropriation Doctrine
In much of the West, whoever started using river water first has the strongest claim to it, even if newer user
Civics
How do states and the federal government share control over interstate rivers?
Interstate river water is governed by a layered system of state compacts, federal approval, and international treaties — a balance recently tested in the Rio Grande case.
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Should states retain primary control over interstate river water under federal compacts?
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