Rio Grande Regional Water Authority: For the River ~ For the Future
RGRWA Facts
Establishment: 2003.
Functions: Desalination, water supply, and wastewater treatment, agricultural water conservation, solid waste, state and federal funds, assist in delivery of water from
the Rio Grande. The Authority also certifies water rights held inside the Authority’s boundaries.
Legal Authority: SB 1902 (78th Legislature), SB 707 (80th Legislature), and Texas Constitution Article XVI, Section 59, which authorizes conservation and reclamation districts. SB 707 amended the powers and duties of the RGRWA.
Boundaries: Counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy, Starr, Zapata, and Webb (excluding Laredo). Click here for a map.
Governance: 18 member board representing irrigation districts, the public, municipal class entities, water supply corporations, and counties.
Authority to Contract: With individuals, corporations (municipal, public, or private) government agency (U.S., state or political subdivision), and through an international cooperation agreement.
Funding: The Authority may borrow money, issue negotiable bonds, and apply for, accept, receive, and administer gifts, grants, loans, and other funds available from any source. The Authority may impose a fee or assessment on a member of the conference or another water user to pay authorized expenses of the authority. Each fiscal year, the board shall determine the amount of the fee or assessment based on the water rights certified by the board.
Prohibitions: The RGRWA is expressly prohibited from condemning water rights or imposing ad valorem taxes.
For the River ~ For the Future: The Rio Grande Regional Water Authority (RGRWA) was created by the 78th Legislature, which enacted SB 1902 in 2003. SB 707 (80th Legislature) amended the powers and duties of the RGRWA.
The RGRWA covers six counties in the Middle and Lower Rio Grande Valley: Willacy, Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata, and Webb (excluding the City of Laredo).
The Authority was specifically created to supplement—not replace—the services, regulatory powers, and authority of irrigation districts, water development supply corporations, counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions within its borders. It has assumed the functions of the former Lower Rio Grande Authority (LRGA).
As a conservation and reclamation district established under the Texas Constitution, the RGRWA has broad powers, rights, privileges, and responsibilities.
The RGRWA’s enabling legislation also gives it specific authority to “investigate, plan, acquire, construct, maintain, or operate any property the authority considers necessary or proper for the accomplishment of the purposes of the authority, including water treatment, wastewater treatment, water conveyance, and desalination of water.”
For more information about the Authority, its programs, and issues:
RGRWA General Information Brochure
Invasive Aquatic Species
El Morillo Drain
Charles Browning, Jr. Water Conservation Scholarship
Administrative Agent
Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, , Executive Director
301 W. Railroad, Weslaco, TX 78596; tel: 956.682.3481; fax: 956.631.4670
Site design and maintenance: WaterPR
