Photo taken on March 13, 2023 shows the Colorado River near Hoover Dam on the Arizona-Nevada border, the United States. The Colorado River, the parched lifeline in U.S. southwest, which supplies water to some 40 million people in seven states, got a jolt in the arm from the 2022-23 winter thanks to the snowpack that is melting and swelling streams and rivers. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Earlier this week, the Department of the Interior along with the Biden Administration announced that seven U.S. states have reached an agreement to conserve water in the Colorado River.
In the agreement, Arizona, California, and Nevada will take 3 million-acre-feet less water from the river through the end of 2026, when the current operating guidelines are set to expire. The Washington Post reported that the three states who are taking water cuts will receive around $1.2 billion in federal compensation.
This deal comes a month after the Biden Administration and the US Bureau of Reclamation sent the states 3 Alternative Plans.
"The consensus-based proposal – agreed upon by the three Lower Basin states – commits to measures to conserve at least 3 million-acre-feet (maf) of system water through the end of 2026, when the current operating guidelines are set to expire. Of those system conservation savings, 2.3 maf will be compensated through funding from the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which is supporting efforts to increase near-term water conservation, build long-term system efficiency, and prevent the Colorado River System’s reservoirs from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production. Under this consensus proposal, the remaining system conservation needed for sustainable operation will be achieved through voluntary, uncompensated reductions by the Lower Basin states."
