Farmers in Mexicali ended a 10-day sit-in at CONAGUA offices in late February, but the dispute is far from over. The Mexicali farmers say they received only half of what they are owed for leaving thousands of acres fallow to conserve Colorado River water. If the standoff drags on, Tijuana’s water supply faces direct risk.
The conflict sits at the intersection of three colliding pressures: a historic drought, a water treaty expiring in October, and a federal water law reform that stripped Mexicali farmers of Colorado River water rights they held for decades. For anyone living in or visiting northern Baja California, this is a fight over the water that comes out of the tap.
How Mexicali Farmers Fund Tijuana’s Water Supply
The arrangement works like this. Mexicali Valley farmers hold rights to a large share of Mexico’s 1.5 million acre-foot annual Colorado River allotment. Under binational conservation agreements, the US government pays these farmers to leave land unplanted. That saves water that would otherwise go to irrigation. Once American officials verify the crops were not sown, the US sends money to Mexico’s government. Mexico then pays the farmers.
The water those Mexicali farmers save flows to cities instead. Tijuana, Ensenada, Rosarito, and other coastal communities depend almost entirely on this redirected agricultural water. Without the farmers’ cooperation, roughly 3 million people across northern Baja lose their Colorado River water supply.
According to Voice of San Diego, US officials confirmed they paid out about $41 million under both agreements so far. Reports from CILA, Mexico’s binational water agency, show Mexico’s government distributed roughly the same amount. But the farmers say the numbers do not add up. They claim they are still owed millions for land already taken out of production.
A 10-Day Sit-In and a Threat to Return
In February, Mexicali farmers occupied CONAGUA offices for 10 days. Ana Quirino, the farmers’ spokesperson, told reporters they had been “fighting against secrecy.” She demanded clarity on how the US payments were spent. The sit-in ended only after CONAGUA officials agreed to report back on the money trail.
Quirino warned that the farmers would re-occupy the offices if answers did not come. The group also blamed the United States, saying Washington had not released all promised funds.
Tensions grew last year when President Claudia Sheinbaum pushed through sweeping changes to Mexico’s national water law. The reform consolidated control over water rights in the federal government’s hands. It stripped farmers of protections they had held for decades. Mexicali farmers responded by blockading trade routes at the US-Mexico border with semi trucks.
Why This Matters for Baja Residents
The Mexicali farmers’ Colorado River water dispute arrives at the worst possible time. Baja California faces its worst drought since 1950, and the 1944 treaty expires in October 2026. Negotiations over renewal have grown contentious. The Trump administration recently rejected a Colorado River water request from Mexico for the first time since the treaty was signed.
If Mexicali farmers lose patience and plant their fields instead of leaving them fallow, the water savings that feed Tijuana and the coast vanish. If the treaty talks produce smaller allocations for Mexico, the math gets even harder. And the $840 million Rosarito desalination plant will not start producing water until 2029.
For now, the farmers wait for CONAGUA’s accounting. The October treaty deadline looms. And the Colorado River keeps shrinking.