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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
The Bureau of Reclamation is throwing its weight behind a plan by Arizona, Nevada and California to preserve at least 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River water through 2026.
The Bureau of Reclamation has inked 82 agreements promising to pay Colorado River water users with Inflation Reduction Act funding if they commit to cutting back on their water usage, an Interior Department leader told a crowd of Western farmers and irrigation district employees at the Family Farm Alliance’s annual conference.
California, Arizona and Nevada have reached a consensus on how to conserve at least 3 million acre-feet of water until 2026, but the plan still needs to be approved by the Upper Basin states and the Bureau of Reclamation.
The Bureau of Reclamation has reached out to agriculture interests in the West as the agency considers how to spend the $4 billion earmarked in the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act for bolstering water-saving efforts in the Colorado River Basin and other drought-stricken areas.
The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that Colorado River water shortages had passed a threshold that will require unprecedented water cuts in Arizona and Nevada, but a multi-state consensus on future cuts remains elusive.
Arizona's farmers, already receiving 65% less Colorado River water, are preparing to be entirely cut off from the aqueduct supply as the Bureau of Reclamation pressures states to slash water usage amid an ongoing drought.
The Bureau of Reclamation is working on new steps to prevent further depletion of drought-stricken Colorado River reservoirs that are critical for agriculture and cities but shrinking to levels that can’t sustain hydropower.
