3 new California agreements announced to save Colorado River water; billions adding up
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The federal government announced three new conservation agreements to bolster water storage in Lake Mead and Lake Powell on Tuesday.
The new agreements total about 400,000 acre-feet of water savings — more than twice the amount of Colorado River water used by Las Vegas over the past year. About 87% of that will come from the Palo Verde Irrigation District, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles. The Palo Verde district supplies water to citrus farmers in Riverside and Imperial counties in California.
A total of 24 water agreements costing $670.2 million are expected to save as much as 1.58 million acre-feet through 2026. One acre-foot — 325,851 gallons — is enough water to supply two to three households for a year. It’s called an acre-foot because it’s the amount of water it would take to cover an acre of land in water a foot deep.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on short-term plans to save at least 3 million acre-feet through 2026. Final decisions on the short-term plans are expected to be approved in late 2024. Read more about the short-term SEIS here.
The Biden administration has used the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to funnel money — $4.6 billion — to programs and projects to address the historic “megadrought” across the West. As temperatures have risen about 2.5 degrees in the Colorado River basin, there is less water flowing. That has created several major problems that came to a head in 2022, when Lake Mead dipped to its lowest point since the reservoir was filled in the 1930s.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is also investing another $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including water purification and reuse, water storage and conveyance, desalination and dam safety.
“What makes this (SEIS) document palpable are the large sums of federal funds and the remnants of last winter in our reservoirs,” according to Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network.
In 2023, government officials acknowledged that there was more water promised than actually exists in the river. Separate from today’s SEIS release, the Bureau of Reclamation is crafting new plans for managing the Colorado River for the long term. That process is expected to produce a plan that will be approved in 2026 and go into operation in 2027.
The three conservation agreements announced on Tuesday:
Bard Water District, in cooperation with Metropolitan Water District: Up to 18,090 acre-feet of conserved water through 2026
Coachella Valley Water District: Up to 30,000 acre-feet of conserved water through 2026
Palo Verde Irrigation District, in cooperation with Metropolitan Water District: Up to 351,063 acre-feet of conserved water through 2026
The water saved in these agreements will be stored in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two biggest reservoirs in the lower 48 states.
The Biden administration has been negotiating agreements that have gone into place since the summer of 2023 that will help prop up lake levels. Some agreements pay for farmers to fallow fields. Others pay for infrastructure repairs and improvements on water systems, ranging from canals down to more efficient sprinkler heads.
The agreements have also included securing water supplies for Native American tribes that have historic claims to river water but have been unable to access the water. Other tribes have committed to store the water in Lake Mead, receiving payments instead.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
