The White House on Tuesday issued new proposals to reduce the amount of water states can draw from the Colorado River, a last-ditch effort to protect the drought-stricken resource used by 40 million Americans.
The Interior Department on Tuesday released an environmental review outlining three options for the Colorado River after the seven states and tribes that depend on its waters failed to agree on how the cuts would go down.
One option would divide reductions by age of water rights, meaning California — the river’s oldest user — would see minimal changes, while Arizona and Nevada would face steep limitations. A second plan would spread the cuts evenly across Arizona, Nevada and California, ignoring statutes of limitations to the detriment of California agriculture, which supplies the entire state with produce.
A third option, doing nothing, would ultimately lead to catastrophe for everyone.
The federal government is only able to impose water limits on states that draw supplies released from Lake Mead and Lake Powell, so the draft analysis focuses on the downstream states of Arizona, California and Nevada. Four other states and other tribal governments also rely on the Colorado River Basin.
The Biden administration has not released a public position on either option. He is expected to make a decision on possible cuts by August, although Tommy Beaudreau, assistant secretary of the Interior Department, told the New York Times that the government would prefer that states work out a plan among themselves.
via the Associated Press
The plan reflects a serious and urgent threat to the western United States. Water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell have dropped over the past 23 years of drought, leading to dramatic declines in Colorado River flows. Officials fear that the water could one day be too low to run turbines in the lakes that generate electricity, or could drop so low that it might not be able to reach the inlet valves that empty into the river.
If this happens, an event known as a “dead base,” no water would flow downstream to the southern states and the river would effectively stop.
The federal government has urged states to reduce water use and offered billions of dollars in incentives to farmers and cities to do so, but states missed a deadline last year to submit a proposal. Six of the states that rely on the Colorado River agreed to major cuts in January, but California rejected the plan, calling for the latest action.
A wet winter full of rain and snow that brought parts of California out of drought will help water levels in the short term and could limit the amount of cuts needed, but experts warn the weather is only healing a deeper wound , which would take a long time. more to heal.
The stakes for the region are high. About 40 million Americans depend on the Colorado River basin for drinking water, and its supply irrigates about 5.5 million acres of agriculture, mostly in California. The dams on Lakes Mead and Powell create electricity that powers millions of homes.
“In our minds, the proper presentation is based on the Secretary’s authority to ensure human health and safety, to operate the system under emergency conditions, and to ensure its beneficial use,” Beaudreau told the Washington Post. “It’s the secretary’s responsibility and she has the authority to protect the system.”
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