A Large Irrigation Canal Supports Farming Here

In April 1932, a gravity-fed canal began bringing Rio Grande water to the Quemado Valley. Its intake was about forty miles from Eagle Pass. By the early 1970s, the main canal stretched 108 miles and fed more than 200 miles of smaller canals.

By the 1940s, about 34,500 acres were under gravity irrigation. Another 6,500 acres could receive water pumped from the canal. The system grew from the work of Maverick County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1, formed to finance and build the project.

Those are historical service figures, not a promise of water for a parcel today. Before buying irrigated land, ask the district about current service, delivery terms, and the rights attached to that tract.