Supreme Court Nullifies Rio Grande River Water-Sharing Agreement

In a 5-4 decision in a case that impacts Rio Grande River water distribution, the Supreme Court nullified a water-sharing agreement between Texas and New Mexico because the deal would have denied U.S. interests in how the Rio Grande Project is operated.

In the case Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado, Texas sued New Mexico on the claim that excessive groundwater pumping in New Mexico was depleting supplies of Rio Grande River water that would otherwise be allocated to Texas, so New Mexico breached the Rio Grande Compact.