The Texas Water Foundation was in Brownsville on Thursday and spoke with Rio Grande Valley leaders about programs to help pay for improved water infrastructure.

"I hope they walk away with hopefully a little bit more information and a little bit more inspiration as well as how on how they can address their infrastructure needs," Texas Water Foundation CEO Sarah Schlessinger said.

The Valley is no stranger to water issues. The nearest water reserves have been low for years.

"But really, at the heart of all of that is a problem of economics of how you finance these things," Schlessinger said. "And also that they walk away with a feeling of, or a better understanding of, how there's coordination opportunities between these different funding programs."

The organization wants local water utilities to take advantage of state, federal and binational funding to help with future water needs.