The U.S.–Mexico border is at a hydrologic inflection point. In 2024, the Colorado River system operated under extraordinary cuts and conservation that momentarily stabilized Lakes Mead and Powell without fixing the river’s “structural deficit.” The current binational agreement (Minute 323) kept cooperation on track and, for 2024, meant a 50,000 acre-feet reduction for Mexico—about 5%—plus an additional 30,000 acre-feet contributed to Lake Mead as part of a lower-basin tri-nat