{"id":473192,"date":"2026-10-22T08:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/473192\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T08:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:36:07","slug":"partnership-between-ut-san-antonio-and-tec-de-monterrey-confronts-a-cross-border-water-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/473192\/","title":{"rendered":"Partnership between UT San Antonio and Tec de Monterrey confronts a cross-border water crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world has entered an \u201cera of global water bankruptcy,<\/a>\u201d according to the United\u00a0Nations, and Texas and Mexico are on the front lines of what could be a catastrophe. For decades, the U.S. and Mexico have actively\u00a0negotiated the amount of water that flows<\/a>\u00a0northward and sustains agriculture\u00a0\u2014 and life itself \u2014 in the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere in Texas. But water scarcity persists on both sides of the border, and Mexico\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0share what it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0have.<\/p>\n

To make matters worse, water quality in the region is also deteriorating. Many areas grapple with water that is too saline to use on farms, as well as rising levels of contaminants like arsenic, fluoride, nitrates, fecal\u00a0bacteria\u00a0and PFAS (or \u201cforever chemicals\u201d). Contaminants can enter waterways from a range of sources, from excessive pesticides and industrial byproducts to faulty sewage treatment and rock weathering.<\/p>\n

The two issues\u00a0are interconnected\u00a0and equally pressing, according to Manish Kumar, distinguished professor at Tecnol\u00f3gico de Monterrey (Tec de Monterrey).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quality and\u00a0quantity\u00a0people\u00a0have to\u00a0come together. If there is no quantity, then quality has no meaning,\u201d Kumar said. \u201cAt the same time, if you have quantity but no quality, you have a case of \u2018water, water everywhere, and\u00a0not\u00a0a drop to drink.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kumar describes water as\u00a0\u201can interdisciplinary problem,\u201d\u00a0arising from industry, household\u00a0use\u00a0and agriculture. \u201cWe have to understand the social aspects and food habits because, at the end of the day, everything gets into the water,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Only cooperation from both nations can solve a problem that knows no\u00a0borders.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why Kumar and his Tec de Monterrey colleague, Jurgen\u00a0Mahlknecht, collaborate with UT San Antonio scientists Guadalupe Carmona and Saugata Datta to address the issue. The team is tackling the problem from\u00a0a number of\u00a0angles, including using AI and machine learning to measure water levels in transboundary aquifers, which millions of people on both sides of the border rely on.<\/p>\n

Mapping hidden threats in groundwater<\/p>\n

Pollution in surface water is often visible. A riverbank littered with dead fish or iridescent splashes of oil can spark debate and put pressure on policymakers. Groundwater contamination, on the other hand, is often invisible. It can remain hidden until the damage is already widespread.<\/p>\n

Datta and his colleagues are working to close this \u201clag period\u201d between contamination and detection.\u00a0The Tec scientists\u00a0on the team\u00a0recently led a painstaking review of a\u00a0decade\u00a0of groundwater quality data across Mexico (2012\u20132022) to better predict and restrict future water pollution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to learn predictive modeling and\u00a0forecast\u00a0when water quality will cross safe limits,\u201d\u00a0Datta said.\u00a0\u201cBy understanding how water has changed in the past and why, we can give forecasts for what can happen in two, five or 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

A\u00a0recent publication<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0alumna\u00a0Pousali\u00a0Pathak, co-authored by Datta and Carmona, highlighted these concerns, specifically regarding\u00a0\u201ccolonias\u201d\u00a0along the border that rely on transboundary groundwater. The study found that certain areas, such as Maverick County, face unusually high salinity due to human activities. The team called for more vigorous monitoring and intervention.<\/p>\n

A long-term goal of the project is to map the interconnectedness of transboundary aquifers such as the Edwards,\u00a0Trinity\u00a0and Carrizo-Wilcox, using geophysical and geochemical analysis to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0more precisely how actions upstream affect water quality and quantity downstream. The team shares their findings with governance organizations like the\u00a0Secretar\u00eda\u00a0de Medio\u00a0Ambiente\u00a0y\u00a0Recursos\u00a0Naturales (SEMARNAT) to help them make informed policy decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes they have no idea where some of these problems actually originate from,\u201d Datta\u00a0explained.\u00a0\u201cOur mapping helps to answer those questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

AI-powered precision for sustainable farming<\/p>\n

One\u00a0cornerstone of the collaboration is a project aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture by\u00a0optimizing\u00a0pesticide use. Pesticide overuse can lead to soil degradation and severe water pollution. To combat this, the team is developing a bilingual app that uses AI and machine learning to provide real-time, site-specific recommendations to farmers.<\/p>\n

By analyzing variables like soil type, recent\u00a0rainfall\u00a0and crop status, the app will help farmers\u00a0determine\u00a0the precise amount and type of pesticide needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers may not know exactly how much pesticide to use,\u201d\u00a0Kumar explained.\u00a0\u201cAI can help us because conditions are always variable. This can help human health\u00a0and also\u00a0boost\u00a0\u2018one health\u2019\u00a0by protecting pollinators.\u201d<\/p>\n

A partnership without borders<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s research serves as an educational platform. Students from both institutions are actively involved in sample collection, testing and data validation. The team is in the process of seeking external funding, which would support more student involvement and accelerate the research.<\/p>\n

The team ultimately plans to recommend policy changes to ensure a more sustainable future for Texas and Mexico alike. For example, the 1944 water treaty, written in an era of more rain and fewer humans, may be due for reevaluation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hydrological climate changes that we\u2019ve been through in the past 20 years have not aligned well with what the policy indicates,\u201d Carmona noted.<\/p>\n

The overarching goal is to \u201csupport decision-making by identifying priority zones for protection, monitoring and intervention,\u201d Mahlknecht said.<\/p>\n

One priority zone Mahlknecht is studying is the Costa de Hermosillo aquifer in Sonora, Mexico, an aquifer plagued by over-extraction and, simultaneously, rising salinity. Mahlknecht hopes to develop the capability to detect salt buildup in groundwater before it becomes undrinkable. If successful, the technique could be applied across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to generate science that is actionable, collaborative and relevant on both sides of the border,\u201d Mahlknecht added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The world has entered an \u201cera of global water bankruptcy,\u201d according to the United\u00a0Nations, and Texas and Mexico…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-473192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}