Seven states that rely on the Colorado River signed an agreement on Monday to reduce usage and help safeguard a river that provides drinking water for 40 million people and irrigation for some of the country’s most fertile agriculture.
Under a pact struck and publicized by the Biden administration, Arizona, California, and Nevada will lower intake by 3 million acre-feet (3.7 billion cubic meters) through the end of 2026, an amount equivalent to 13% of their river allotment.
The Lower Basin states of the century-old Colorado River Compact, which gives water rights to them, are these three, as are the four Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
While the Upper Basin states rely on the river and its tributaries, the Lower Basin states rely on Lake Mead, a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam and whose spigot is controlled by the United States Bureau of Reclamation.
Successful agreement was reached for Western Water Distribution Plan, supported by federal funding and favorable hydrology
The long-term health of the river is vital for the entire region, notably for the economics of large cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, as well as the agricultural industry.
The agreement reached on Monday removes a significant impediment to completing a three-year plan for distributing water rights beginning in 2024. Without a compromise, the federal government would have been compelled to implement cuts, which would almost certainly have resulted in a flood of lawsuits.
The deal, which the states hailed as a “historic success,” came after a year of grueling discussions that included two blown deadlines.
This year’s tremendous downpour, which filled reservoirs and packed the mountains with snow, aided the process.
Furthermore, the Biden administration made it rain with $1.2 billion in incentives under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which will reimburse local water districts, towns, and Native American tribes for cost-cutting measures.
“This year’s hydrology was really important, and not only the rains in California,” said Estevan Lopez, New Mexico’s signatory to the deal as the state’s commissioner to the river compact. “That made this possible, along with the funding from the IRA.”
Tougher Speaks First
Now, the seven states must return to work on a longer-term agreement, most likely for 20 years, that must be accomplished without relying on wet years or a flood of federal funds, and with the repercussions of climate change approaching.
“There are significantly more difficult things in the future that are going to have to be agreed to,” said John Entsminger, Nevada’s representative.
The Colorado River Compact has long been a source of contention because it was signed during a typically rainy era, leading signatories to believe they had access to more water.
The river has been strained further by rapid population expansion and, in this century, a catastrophic drought threatened to lower reservoir levels below the intake valves that supply water downstream and cut off hydroelectric output until this year’s rains.
Acknowledging water scarcity and thriving amidst a shortage
According to Entsminger, officials now recognize that there will be less Colorado River water accessible in the twenty-first century than there was in the twentieth.
However, he referenced Las Vegas, which has grown by 800,000 people since 2002 while reducing Colorado River use by 31%, as an example of how to thrive in the face of shortage.
Although significant, the agreement excludes two key river users: Mexico and Native American groups.
Lopez stated that Mexico, which receives 1.5 million acre-feet of water per year under a 1944 deal with the United States, has indicated a desire to collaborate, and that the tribes, who have an estimated one-fourth to one-third of the water rights, have been kept informed of the discussions.
