[5] The agreement worked well for 50 years as a tool for peaceful resolution of transborder water management issues, but since the end of the 20th century, Mexico's deliveries to the U.S. have at times come up short.
The Commission objectives were set as follows:[3] The annual cross-border allocations were defined as follows:[3] Drought can be accommodated by lower deliveries that should be made up within the 5-year accounting "cycle"[3] (the concept was updated via Minute 234 in 1969[5]).
[8] Article 25 of the treaty created a "minute system", a vehicle that allows rapid changes to accommodate water flow variations, environmental conditions, and technical accidents.
[10] Per the treaty, the countries have the following entitlements:[11] A special provision ensures that the US 1⁄3 share of the flow from the Mexican tributaries "shall not be less, as an average ... than 350 000 acre-feet annually".
In any case, it is unclear if Mexico can meet its obligations due to very low levels in the La Boquilla and Francisco Madero reservoirs.