Arizona, California and Nevada set 1 million acre-feet Colorado River plan
Arizona, California and Nevada announced a temporary plan this month to save up to 1 million acre-feet of Colorado River water through 2028. The proposal comes as some of the rules governing the river-sharing agreement expire this year and as negotiations among the states have mostly broken down.
Tom Buschatzke, Arizona’s lead negotiator, said earlier this week the plan was needed after the driest winter on record. He said, "We have kind of a crisis situation that this past winter has created" and "We need to do everything we can, and that's what our plan does, to find a short-term fix."
Lake Mead and Lake Powell
Under the proposal, Nevada and Arizona would take about one-third less water than they are entitled to annually from Lake Mead, while California would shrink its use by about 13%. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it will release more water and earlier than usual into Lake Powell, adding a federal step to a plan that still needs approval from federal officials and state lawmakers.
The states and Mexico had already announced cuts that bring the total proposed savings to 3.2 million acre-feet. The Colorado River supports 40 million people across seven U.S. states, two Mexican states and Native American tribes, so the agreement reaches far beyond the three states that announced this month’s plan.
Arizona and Southern California users
The proposal carries direct implications for the Central Arizona Project, which moves much of Arizona’s share through a 336-mile canal system to 6 million people in central and southern Arizona. In Southern California, the Metropolitan Water District supplies water to 19 million people and relies on the Colorado River for about 20% of its supply.
Mark Gold, a Metropolitan Water District of Southern California board member, and Kevin Moran of the Environmental Defense Fund both described the river system as under severe strain. Moran said, "The Colorado River is tanking," and added, "We are at the 11th hour in needing to have strong and collaborative solutions to protect the health of the river."
August negotiations
The three states say they will work out how the cuts will trickle down by August. That leaves federal approval, state lawmaker signoff and the unresolved question of how the reductions will be allocated before the temporary plan can take hold across the Lower Basin.
