Lower Rio Grande Authority: For the River ~ For the Future
LRGA Facts
Establishment: 1951.
Dissolution: Sept. 1, 2005.
Functions: To control, store, preserve, use and distribute
the waters of the Rio Grande belonging to water users and districts that
contract with the authority.
Legal Authority: Texas Constitution Article XVI, Section 59, which authorizes conservation and reclamation districts.
Boundaries: Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron counties, excluding cities. See map.
Membership: Irrigation districts.
Governance: Nine-member board (four each from Cameron and Hidalgo counties and one from Willacy County) owning property within the bounds of the Authority and selected by the conference of irrigation districts.
Authority to Contract: With districts, municipalities, political subdivisions, private corporations, state government, federal government and water users.
Funding: Assessments of up to 10 cents per acre per year. LRGA may issue or sell bonds and borrow money.
By-laws: Approved by conference vote on March 16, 2004; available here (PDF, 207 KB).
For the River ~ For the Future: With that goal, 21 irrigation districts in Willacy, Cameron, and Hidalgo counties came together in late 2002 to revive the long-dormant Lower Rio Grande Authority. View map of LRGA area.
The issues: ongoing drought and uncertain inflows into the Rio Grande are threatening the firm yield of the river, while financial losses in agriculture have undermined the ability of producers and districts to make water conserving improvements to the Valley's vast network of irrigation canals and channels.
The LRGA stood as a single point for attracting outside funding or issuing bonds for long-term water conservation projects in the Lower Valley. And, as a conservation and reclamation district established under the Texas Constitution, the LRGA had other broad powers, rights, privileges, and responsibilities for a wide range of regional projects, from desalination and drainage to electric generation and funds administration.
LRGA member districts encompassed more than a half-million acres in the Lower Valley and held the rights to more than 1.37 million acre-feet of water.
Evolution of Irrigation Districts and Operating Institutions: Texas, Lower Rio Grande Valley, a comprehensive history that explains how developments in the area have shaped water law and regulations, has been released by the Texas Water Resources Institute of Texas A&M as part of the Rio Grande Basin Initiative. Click here to download the file (4.8 MB PDF).
Administrative Agent
Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, Kenneth N. Jones, Jr., Executive Director
311 N. 15th Street, McAllen TX 78501-4705; tel: 956.682.3481; fax: 956.631.4670
Site design and maintenance: Fernandez Group, Inc.
