Reimagining US-Mexico Water Cooperation

“Nobody likes to put limits on the use of water. We’re not used to that. Water is supposed to be a human right. … In Mexico, it means that you can use as much water as you can. And in Texas, you can use as much water as you can, pump as much water as you can. That’s in the Constitution. … [So] the problem is really within the policy and governance system that was built on the assumption that water is infinite — and it’s not.”

— Rosario Sanchez, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Texas Water Resources Institute

About the Episode

A water crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border is growing. The 1944 Water Treaty has long guided how both nations share the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers, but climate change, drought, and growing demand are testing its limits. Guest host Tony Payan speaks with Rosario Sanchez, a senior research scientist at the Texas Water Resources Institute, and Ivonne Cruz, a research scholar at the Baker Institute, about how to rethink water cooperation for an age of scarcity — and what it will take to build a more resilient future for both countries.

This conversation was recorded on Oct. 23, 2025. 

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Center for the U.S. and Mexico, “Mexico Country Outlook 2026,” Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, November 6, 2025. 

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Hosted by David M. Satterfield,  the “Baker Briefing” podcast delivers timely analysis on breaking policy developments and other critical policy issues of the day in conversations with experts at the Baker Institute. New episodes are released weekly.

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