After the Bureau of Reclamation asked the seven states in the Colorado River Basin to conserve more water, the Upper Basin states have outlined a five point plan in response.
In June, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton said states within the Colorado Basin should develop plans to provide an additional two to four million acre-feet of water in 2023 to protect critical water elevations at Lake Powell and Lake Mead. For scale, Colorado is allotted 51.75% of the Upper Basin water, equal to 3.86 million acre-feet a year.
Touton also said without these plans being developed by mid-August, the Bureau of Reclamation is prepared to take action under its existing authority to protect the water system.
The Upper Division States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming sent a letter to Touton in response highlighting actions the areas would take, along with asking for collaboration from the Lower Basin of the river, which includes Nevada, Arizona and California.
“Accordingly, we stand ready to participate in and support efforts, across the Basin, to address the continuing dry hydrology and depleted storage conditions,” the letter said. “However, the options the Upper Division States have available to protect critical reservoir elevations are limited.”
The letter said the Upper Basin is limited by the shrinking supply of the river, with previous drought response actions currently depleting upstream storage by 661,000 acre-feet of water. It argued that water users already suffer chronic shortages under current conditions including cuts to water allocations in each state.
The Upper Division States emphasized that they plan to implement the 5 Point Plan in conjunction with conservation plans for the Lower Basin.
Components of the plan include amendment and reauthorization of the System Conservation Pilot Project legislation originally enacted in 2014. The pilot was a four year program designed to explore potential solutions and address the declining water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
The plan proposed by the Upper Basin states wants to extend the authorization and reporting periods out through 2026 and 2027 and get funding to support the program. With authorization and funding, that plan will be reactivated in the Upper Basin beginning next year.
The plan also outlined a priority to develop a 2023 drought response plan beginning this month with finalization in April and consider an Upper Basin Demand Management program. The letter also wants to further fund and accelerate enhanced monitoring and reporting to improve water management tools, and continue strict water management within the available annual water supply.
The letter also pushes for more water conservation downstream in the Lower Basin.
“Reclamation data shows that Lower Basin and Mexico depletions are more than double the depletions in the Upper Basin,” the letter said. “Therefore, additional efforts to protect critical reservoir elevations must include significant actions focused downstream of Lake Powell. Otherwise, the effectiveness of our 5 Point Plan will be limited.”
The Lower Basin states have not yet released their plan in response to Touton’s call for 2 to 4 million acre-feet of conservation.
