by Madeline Armstrong
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced yesterday that for the second consecutive year, the lower Colorado River basin will be in a tier 1, meaning that Arizona’s Colorado River water allocation will once again be reduced by 18% – 512,000 acre-feet.
“The future conditions in the Basin are likely to continue to force hard decisions by those who rely on the Colorado River,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, in an Aug. 15 ADWR press release. “We need all users to contribute to the system’s security.”
According to Douglas MacEachern, communications administrator for the ADWR, this reduction is exactly the same as it was this last year, so no further operations will be affected.
This rationing of Colorado River water was the result of a 23-megadrought that diminished the river’s largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, threatening water availability and power production.
“Over the course of 16 months, Department leadership and the Bureau of Reclamation brought together the many communities who rely on the river to chart a path forward,” reads an Aug. 15 Department of the Interior press release. “Through this historic, consensus-based process, Reclamation updated the near-term operating guidelines for the river’s two largest dams – Glen Canyon and Hoover. This new strategy will lead to at least 3 million acre-feet of system water conservation savings through the end of 2026, when the current guidelines expire. Today, thanks to unprecedented levels of consultation and coordination with states, Tribes, irrigators, other stakeholders and with the Country of Mexico, along with historic funding through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Administration has staved off an immediate threat.”
In addition to this, the BOR is leveraging almost $13 billion through the Biden-Harris Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. They have used those funds to invest in upgrades to the West’s aging water infrastructure including projects that support water distribution structures, water storage capacity, advance metering infrastructure, canal lining, farm efficiency improvements, recycling and desalinating water.
The Colorado River basin is a critical resource, providing water to over 40 million people and 30 tribal nations. In addition to fueling hydropower resources in seven states, supporting over 5 million acres of agriculture and supporting vital ecosystems and endangered species.
“Since 2014, Arizonans have conserved more than three million acre-feet in the Colorado River Basin,” reads the ADWR press release. “Through the Lower Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program, Arizonans have voluntarily committed to conserve nearly one million acre-feet through 2026, when the current 2007 Interim Guidelines and the Drought Contingency Plan expire. These conservation commitments, as well as the committed efforts of Arizona’s partners in the river system, have contributed significantly to keeping the system from descending below a Tier 1 condition.”
Other areas experiencing water cuts include Nevada and Northern Mexico.
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Madeline Armstrong is a contributor to The Center Square.
