As the federal deadline to reach an agreement on reducing water usage from the Colorado River approached, six states reached an agreement, with the exception of California, which proposed its own plan.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) gave the seven states until Feb. 1 to devise a plan to reduce water usage in order to preserve water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Initially, the BOR gave the states until August 2022 to devise a plan to conserve 2-4 million acre-feet of water (an acre-foot is equal to 325,851 gallons). The deadline passed without an agreement, and the states regrouped to reach a consensus after the agency said it would impose unilateral action to preserve reservoir water levels.
California—which has the largest allocation from the river—proposed its plan after the other Basin states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming released their proposal.
The proposal from the six states is the framework agreement alternative proposed in the supplemental environmental impact statement currently being prepared by the BOR. The proposal calls for modifying the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines to prevent Lake Powell and Lake Mead from falling to critically low elevations, impacting water delivery or power production from either reservoir in 2023 and 2024.
Among the proposals would be to maintain Lake Powell levels by reducing releases and maintaining a higher water elevation level. Water preservation levels would also be raised for Lake Mead, with the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada reducing usage and ensuring water is available for future use.
The proposal also urges the government to account for evaporation losses of over 1.5 million acre-feet apportioned among Lower Basin states. Federal officials estimate more than 10% of the river’s flow evaporates, leaks or spills, yet the Lower Basin states have never accounted for that water loss. According to the Associated Press, California stands to lose a large amount of water, since its water travels the most distance, as it is subject to the evaporation rule. The Imperial Irrigation District, the single largest of all users of Colorado River water, would lose about 19% of its share.
“California, and particularly the Imperial Irrigation District, is working to be part of the solution, however, we also believe in upholding the Law of the River and not shouldering the burden of supply limitations for states and agencies that have outgrown their water rights,” said Henry Martinez, general manager of the Imperial Irrigation District in a statement. “California has spent the past two decades successfully working together to resolve intra-state supply and demand imbalances to sustain the Colorado River.”
The Law of the River is a collection of documents from compacts, decrees and court judgments that regulate the use of the river.
JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, said the proposal by the other Basin states “is inconsistent with the Law of the River and does not form a seven-state consensus approach.”
California’s proposal builds on a previous commitment by four Southern California water agencies to cut water use by 400,000 acre-feet per year, a reduction of about 9%, through 2026.
The proposal does not allocate for evaporation or seepage, which the other proposal does, and asks BOR to remove “operational neutrality” using actual water surface elevation to determine operating conditions on both lakes.
Hamby said the proposal is “based on what is practical, voluntary, and achievable” through 2026 and complies with the Law of the River.
According to Bloomberg Law, John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said all states have been negotiating in good faith.
“While our goal remains achieving a seven-state agreement, developing and submitting this consensus-based alternative is a positive step forward in a multi-phased environmental review process critical to protecting the Colorado River system,” Entsminger said.
Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, told The Hill the states are continuing to work on an agreement, but he fears the government is “going to step in.”
California’s plan, according to Buschatzke, relies too much on voluntary action and would lead to Arizona bearing the majority of cuts.
“Reservoirs are too low, and we’re too close to the edge to be able to afford an outcome in which an uncertain voluntary program might create the volume of water we need,” Buschatzke said.
Buschatzke said that although there is no “hard and fast deadline,” he believes this will occur by the end of March. Buschatzke continued that it is “incumbent upon us to do everything we can to try to get a collaborative outcome” and said while BOR has yet to make any indication of what outcomes it decides, he believes it could be a combination of mandatory cutbacks and voluntary compensation measures.
BOR stated in its notice of intent that it was “initiating an expedited, supplemental process” to protect lakes Powell and Mead, with an expected first draft released in spring 2023 and an end date of late summer 2023 to become effective for 2023-24 operations. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
