NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado have now settled their decades-long dispute on sharing Rio Grande water. The New Mexico Department of Justice and the state Engineer’s Office said the three states, along with the federal government, have reached agreements on the Rio Grande Compact. The compact is a 1938 deal on allocating river water between the states for irrigation.
Under the settlement, New Mexico will adopt a management plan for the lower Rio Grande within two years. A Special Master for the U.S. Supreme Court will now consider the agreements. That hearing is set for September 29. The New Mexico Department of Justice called the agreement a fair resolution for all states.
