Colorado River basin states reach historic deal on water cutbacks to stave off crisis

A deal has been reached to conserve at least 3 million acre-feet of water in the Colorado River through 2026, the Department of the Interior announced on Monday. More than half of that would be saved by the end of 2024, with major portions likely coming from farmers in Imperial County who would be paid to cut off water supplies during blisteringly hot summer months.

A whopping $1 billion or more in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act would be used to save 2.3 million acre-feet by compensating farmers, water districts, tribes and others, according to sources involved with talks on the agreement. The remaining 700,000 acre-feet would be achieved though voluntary, uncompensated reductions by the three states. The consensus-based proposal – agreed upon by California, Arizona and Nevada – commits to measures to conserve the water through the end of 2026, when current operating guidelines agreed to in 2007 are set to expire.

While it must undergo federal review and approvals, it was hailed Monday by federal and state officials as a breakthrough agreement that will prop up the river long enough to allow officials to quickly pivot to negotiating over how to save the massive river system long-term.

"It's huge progress, undeniably huge progress," California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said in an interview. "It's clear this provides a bridge to state supplies, to Colorado River supplies through 2026, and also allows these water agencies to begin to work together to update the guidelines ... post-2026."

The agreement, if finalized and adopted by all parties, would also free up $228 million in federal funds to help restore the rapidly drying Salton Sea, which straddles Riverside and Imperial counties. That was a major condition for the Imperial Irrigation District, which holds by far the largest legal rights to water from the river, and which agreed earlier to conserve a million acre feet by 2026, in exchange for adequate compensation for farmers as well.

Under an "innovative" summer conservation program being developed by IID and its agricultural water users advisory committee, farmers would also be paid if they signed up on a voluntary basis to not receive water for thirsty alfalfa and other forage crops for 60 days during a 90-day stretch of summer months, said JB Hamby, who is both California's Colorado River Board Commissioner and sits on IID's board of directors. Temperatures in Imperial County, which lies in the Sonoran Desert, regularly reach blistering triple digits from June through September.

"In any 60 days in the 90-day period, IID would come lock your gate (through which river irrigation water is delivered) ... and at the end of the 60 days they would come take off the lock," Hamby said. He and some farmers interested in the program said it was fairer than earlier, yearlong fallowing programs, which paid sometimes absentee landowners substantial sums, but left tenant farmers high and dry. While crops would likely wilt, Hamby said, with some cuttings lost, they would rebound once they were irrigated again.

In this case, the program payments would be modeled on existing on farm conservation programs, under which active tenants and landowner farmers receive funds to install water efficient sprinklers, pumps to recapture runoff and other measures. The San Diego County Water Authority currently pays IID $700 an acre-foot for that program, but IID officials said no number has been agreed upon with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation yet for the summer reductions.

In total, California has committed to saving 1.6 million acre-feet by 2026, with the rest of the savings to come from Arizona and Nevada. That's less than the 3 to 4 million acre-feet per year that Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton told Congress last June was necessary to save the shrinking, over-allocated, drought ravaged river. But spectacular snowpack and rainfall this winter is helping to gradually replenish Lake Powell and Lake Mead, staving off deep immediate cuts for now.

Federal and state negotiators are preparing to pivot within weeks to talks on how to conserve the major river system long-term. An estimated 40 million people, including in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas, depend on the river, as do farmers from California's Coachella Valley, Imperial Valley and Yuma County, who together provide substantial winter vegetables for the nations' grocery stores and domestic and foreign livestock forage.

Terms and contracts for paying farmers, water districts and tribes for the interim conservation are still being finalized.

Officials leading the negotiations for the three lower basin states said in their proposal letter to the federal government that they were submitting it with "a firm recognition that recent hydrology does not override the longer-term challenges the basin is facing. The Lower Division States stand ready to support these efforts and look forward to our continued cooperation with Reclamation and the Upper Division States on these critical actions."

In a separate letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Govs. Gavin Newsom (California), Katie Hobbs (Arizona) and Joe Lombardo (Nevada) praised the hard-won negotiated agreement. "The product of this collaboration is measurable, verifiable, and enforceable water conservation volumes that provide immediate and substantial support for the Colorado River," they wrote.

In an email, Rep. Raul Ruiz, a Democratic congressman who represents parts of Imperial County, called the agreement "a critical development in our efforts to mitigate the drought. It is clear that California’s 25th Congressional District plays an important role in producing our nation’s produce, and our desert environment makes water a vital public health issue for our residents."

He added, "Any reduction in water to our area has a disproportionate, negative impact on our residents and environment due to the Salton Sea’s receding shoreline and our residents’ reliance on agriculture for their livelihoods. Additionally, California and the agencies within the district hold some of the most senior water rights. I will be laser-focused on making sure our region gets our fair share of resources, and that the wellbeing of my constituents is front and center.”

All seven states that depend on the river and its mammoth dams and reservoirs also submitted a letter requesting the voluntary proposal be added to an environmental review of other proposals by federal officials, which could have imposed mandatory cuts.

In light of the new, consensus-based plan, Interior officials also announced they were temporarily withdrawing the draft SEIS published in April to fully analyze the effects of the new proposal, and pushed back the May 30 deadline for comments until an unspecified date. The Bureau of Reclamation will publish an updated draft for public comment with the consensus-based proposal as an action alternative, and Interior plans to "finalize the... process" later this year.

“California worked hard with our Basin States partners to achieve consensus between all seven states to protect the Colorado River system for the duration of the current guidelines,” Hamby said in a statement.

The seven-states letter requested that Reclamation:

• analyze the Lower Basin Plan as an action alternative under the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement;

• provide sufficient time to fully analyze the plan consistent with applicable law, and;

• allow for an appropriate public comment period.

The draft SEIS evaluates potential near-term modifications to the 2007 Interim Shortage Guidelines that govern the operation of the Colorado River’s major dams and reservoirs through 2026. Federal officials postponed the May 30 deadline for public comment on Monday, after the three state proposal was submitted.

“California and our partners in Arizona and Nevada have developed a plan to better perform and protect the Colorado River system than either action alternative identified in the current Draft SEIS released last month by Reclamation," Hamby added. "The Lower Basin Plan will generate unprecedented volumes of conservation that will build elevation in Lake Mead, make strategic use of the improved hydrology, and build upon partnerships within and between states, urban water agencies, agricultural irrigation districts, and Basin Tribes who rely upon and share the Colorado River.”

Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at jwilson@gannett.com or on Twitter @janetwilson66

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Colorado River basin states reach landmark deal on water cuts