Local officials and experts are meeting to find solutions to the Rio Grande Valley's water problems.

About a mile north near the corner of Rabb Road and Clark Road north of La Feria, a local water provider is looking to the future.

"We have to look at alternative sources," North Alamo Water Supply Corporation General Manager Steven Sanchez said.

Sanchez says he's not going to sit around and wait for Mexico to pay its water debt to the United States.

"North Alamo is looking at the brackish groundwater that we have here, which is groundwater, but high in salt," Sanchez said.

The water corporation is working on a pilot program to pump water from the ground and filter it for drinking.

They've already spent $300,000 on the effort, and that's one of the solutions being discussed at this week's binational water symposium in McAllen.

"We're focused beyond international treaties beyond hurricanes," Texas Water Foundation CEO Sarah Schlessinger said.

Schlessinger organized the event to bring local leaders together and find solutions already in their area.

"We know a lot about the lack of water availability in the Rio Grande, but we don't talk a lot about the way that groundwater is actually supplementing what's in there because of some of the tributaries that are coming in from both Texas and Mexico. That's a gap in data," Schlessinger said.

Local leaders will also discuss how to pay for these projects.

On Tuesday, voters approved Proposition 4, providing dedicated funding for water infrastructure projects.

The North American Development Bank also recently announced a $400 million resiliency fund for water infrastructure and conservation.

At the end of the meeting, the foundation will put out a report on the state of the Rio Grande based on the ideas of the people at the symposium.

Watch the video above for the full story.