Federal officials are requiring substantial reductions in Colorado River water use by Arizona, California and Nevada over the next two years, with Arizona facing the steepest cut as Lake Mead and Lake Powell approach critically low levels.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Arizona, California and Nevada will receive substantially less water from the Colorado River over the next two years under a federal allocation plan intended to protect a river system serving tens of millions of people as its two largest reservoirs remain under severe strain.
The three Lower Basin states are expected to see their combined Colorado River allocations reduced by roughly one-quarter, while Arizona’s share will fall by approximately one-third, according to The New York Times.
The reductions come as Lake Mead and Lake Powell approach critically low levels following more than two decades of drought and heavy demand on the river. The Times attributed the worsening conditions to both climate change and overuse.
Colorado River flows have declined by approximately 20% during a drought described as the region’s worst in roughly 1,000 years.
The stakes extend far beyond the three states facing the new reductions.
The Colorado River supplies water to about 40 million people, irrigates approximately 5.5 million acres of farmland and supports two dozen Native American tribes. Its water also reaches two Mexican states.
With reservoir storage depleted, water experts say the system has far less capacity to withstand another stretch of poor precipitation.
“If the next couple of years are dry, the risk to Colorado River water users is extraordinary,” Jennifer Pitt, director of the Colorado River Program at the National Audubon Society, told the Times. “There is no buffer to rely on anymore.”
The reductions are expected to push Arizona, California and Nevada to increase their reliance on groundwater while accelerating investments in conservation and water-efficiency projects.
Agriculture is likely to face particular pressure because farming consumes the majority of Colorado River water.
Arizona plans to draw heavily on underground reserves accumulated during years when the state stored portions of its unused Colorado River allocation.
Tom Buschatzke, Arizona’s chief Colorado River negotiator, told the Times that aquifers containing previously banked river water will play an important role in helping the state manage the reductions.
The new plan follows increasingly difficult negotiations among the seven U.S. states that depend on the Colorado River.
Arizona, California and Nevada had offered to make reductions of the size now being imposed as talks over the river’s future became more contentious.
The four Upper Basin states — Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming — will not face comparable water-use cuts under the plan.
Officials representing those states have argued that their communities cannot commit to permanent reductions because the amount of water available to them varies significantly each year depending on winter snowfall and resulting runoff.
That distinction has become a major source of disagreement between the Upper and Lower Basin states as they attempt to determine how the shrinking river should be divided.
California’s chief Colorado River negotiator, J.B. Hamby, said the latest arrangement should be viewed as a temporary measure rather than a final agreement for managing the system.
The plan is “a bridge, not a permanent solution,” Hamby said in a statement.
“The Lower Basin has shown what meaningful action looks like,” he said. “Now we need the entire basin to do the same.”
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said the agreement gives the state greater certainty and prevents the federal government from imposing even more severe reductions without Arizona’s participation.
“Together, we’ve proven that the Lower Basin will work in meaningful ways to protect the Colorado River system we all rely on,” Hobbs said. “I applaud Nevada and California for joining us in stepping up to the plate.”
The coming reductions will place additional pressure on cities, farms and water agencies across the Southwest while negotiations continue over a longer-term framework for sharing the Colorado River.
With Lake Mead and Lake Powell providing less of a cushion against drought than in previous years, officials now face the challenge of reducing demand quickly enough to prevent further deterioration of a water system relied upon by communities and agricultural regions across much of the West.
Original article
Comments