Scarce Water: Doing More with Less in the Lower Rio Grande

The single most important development factor for the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV)-Starr, Hidalgo, Cameron, and Willacy counties-is a reliable and safe water supply. The purpose of this report is to examine how water institutions in the U.S. portion of the LRGV are dealing with water scarcity, and the growing and conflicting demands for water. It provides information on the authority, organization, and tasks of these water management institutions, the relations etween them, and the major issues they face. Recommendations for institutional development are provided. These include a greater participatory role for the International Boundary and Water Commission, greater stakeholder participation in water management issues, a change in perception that water is not a free good, and the need for cooperation in water management with Mexico which must be developed at the regional and local levels.