The relentless losses to the Colorado River and its reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, present a challenge to the seven states who rely on them: They must decide how to navigate those losses while preserving the minimum threshold necessary to supply drinking water to 40 million people, irrigation for 5.5 million acres of farmland, and hydroelectric power generation for 4 million people.

As levels in the reservoirs creep closer to dead pool, the level at which water is no longer able to flow downstream or power turbines that produce hydroelectric power, the federal government has pressed the states to come to an agreement.  Last June, the Bureau of Reclamation issued a deadline to the states to create a plan that would conserve between 2 and 4 million acre-feet water per year; however, that deadline was disregarded, as was a later one, and no agreement was ever reached.

In April, without an alternative plan in place, the Bureau submitted a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to determine the upcoming year’s operating guidelines for the Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams at Lakes Powell and Mead, respectively. In that document, several action alternatives were outlined regarding water reductions for the Lower Basin states (California, Arizona, and Nevada) with the caveat that another option may present itself. In response to those undesirable options and under the time constraints outlined by the Draft SEIS, the Lower Basin states proposed an agreement in a letter to Commissioner Touton of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation dated May 22 as an additional option for consideration.

Per the proposal, the states would reduce their water allocations by 13 percent, a total of 3 million acre-feet through 2026 with 1.5 million acre-feet conserved by the end of 2024. Also, 2.3 million acre-feet are to be compensated by the federal government through the Inflation Reduction Act, leaving the balance to be “compensated through state and/or local entities or be uncompensated.”[1] That amounts to approximately $1.2 billion that would be paid to farmers, tribes, and cities for voluntarily conserving water supplies.

The Lower Basin’s proposal and a letter from all seven basin states prompted the suspension of the Draft SEIS, at least until the terms can be analyzed. The proposed agreement also averts the need for federal government intervention to preserve levels at the reservoirs. Although the proposed reductions are less than those sought last June, officials have agreed that the amounts should provide sufficient protection for the reservoirs until 2026, and there are provisions in place should water levels drop to inadequate levels.

Whether this proposal is accepted as an official agreement or not, 2026 looms as the deadline for a new operational agreement among all seven basin states that will focus attention on critical actions necessary to meet the long-term challenges to protect and preserve the river.

[1] Buschatzke, Thomas, et al. “The Colorado River Basin States Representatives of Arizona, California ...” Doi.Gov, 22 May 2023, doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/lower-basin-plan-letter-final-5-22-2023.pdf.