Mission and McAllen have been in the second phase of water conservation since August 2022. However, as reservoir levels slowly decline and rainfall becomes increasingly scarce, Hidalgo County must prepare for possible worsening conditions.

A drought has a domino effect on an area – water shortages can lead to an increased risk of wildfires and compromise drinking water quality, posing health and safety risks. Agriculture is impacted, which in turn affects the local economy. Lower crop yields lead to financial losses, higher consumer prices and job losses in the industry. Prolonged drought can strain a city’s water infrastructure, which can lead to local authorities imposing water restrictions on residents.

However, Mission and surrounding communities have a plan to manage limited water supplies.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requires Mission and other certain entities to develop and implement a five-year drought contingency plan. Although Mission is still operating under the plan created in 2019, the city must submit an updated version to the TCEQ this month. On August 12, city leaders met to discuss the new water conservation process.

“If you remember last year, we had a very long, hot summer, so hot that it was the first time I heard the term ‘flash drought’ from the National Weather Service. And the reservoir levels continued to drop throughout the summer,” said Deputy City Manager David Flores.

According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, a sudden drought is a rapid onset of drought caused by lower than normal rainfall, high temperatures, winds, and radiation.

Record heat in the summer of 2023 impacted crops and livestock in Hidalgo County. In addition, water levels in Falcon Reservoir steadily declined from 24.4% to 20.4% in June alone. City leaders grew increasingly concerned about wildfires and water shortages and urged conservation through water use and irrigation practices.

In February of this year, Mission and Hidalgo County Emergency Management hosted a statewide discussion to coordinate efforts with other cities and water utilities to address the water shortage problem.

“The plan is designed to bring us all together so we can find some decision points and all move in the same direction at the same time,” Flores said. “However, not every facility operates the same way. That’s why we only looked at two triggers that we could agree on nationally. And everything else, like demand triggers, reduction targets and surcharges, should be left to individual facilities.”

The various city leaders determined which water levels in the Amistad and Falcon reservoirs would be the trigger points for each of the six water conservation levels. As of August 12, the Amistad and Falcon reservoirs combined were 38.3% full. Whenever the reservoirs fall below a certain capacity for 30 consecutive days, municipalities begin a new water conservation level.

The combined trigger points for reservoir capacity are as follows:

• Below 40% – triggers stage two
• Below 30% – triggers level three
• Below 20% – triggers level four
• Below 15% – triggers level five
• Level six – determined by the city manager

Water plant capacity also helps determine Mission’s water conservation levels. Mission residents get their water from two water treatment plants, but the raw water source is the Rio Grande, which comes from reservoirs via irrigation canals. The two water treatment plants together treat 25.5 million gallons per day. When water demand meets or exceeds a certain delivery capacity, the city can implement a higher water conservation level.

Since the start of the second phase of water conservation in 2022, Mission city leaders have already enacted some water restrictions – prohibiting sidewalk and driveway washing, testing fire hydrants and restricting other forms of water use throughout the city. But each time the city enters a new phase of water conservation, the regulations become more stringent, such as banning vehicle washing, watering golf courses and parks and watering green spaces, to name a few.

Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza, however, insisted that she did not want the city to halt construction at any point, despite the deputy city manager’s suggestion to implement the ban in the fourth phase of water conservation.

“I would rather have that happen than have it ever come to that,” she said. “I would rather limit the water use of a car wash than that of a construction company.”

Council member Ruben Plata agreed.

“I would rather not put restrictions on it. God forbid if it comes to that, we can always call a special session,” he said. “If we pass it now and approve it, I think it will cause us a lot (of problems). People will feel like we are stopping growth. Even if it doesn’t happen until phase six, I think it would make us look bad.”

Flores agreed to remove the item, along with a water usage surcharge, from the 2024 Drought Contingency Plan at the mayor’s request. The deputy city manager said the county has agreed to implement water usage surcharges in phase three of the water conservation effort. But Gonzalez Garza wanted to delay implementation of the increased fee for now. Although 60% of Mission residents would likely not be affected by the proposed conservation fees, the mayor would like to add the discussion to the agenda at a future meeting.

Whatever decisions the leaders of the city of Mission make, the goal is to achieve consensus across the entire district.

“We’re going to take this discussion back to the county to see what the other towns think,” Flores said. “And the idea is that if we all think the same thing and pull the trigger at the same time, we’re united. That’s why they brought us together in February — ‘Let’s all do this together.'”