Items Tagged with 'dan keppen'

Colorado River water users are divided over how to reduce water consumption following the expiration of current guidelines in 2026, with some calling for declines to be distributed evenly across all users and others seeking decreases based on water rights seniority.

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 bipartisan infrastructure agreement that the Senate is preparing to debate includes $8.3 billion in western water infrastructure funding sought by farm groups in the region that is suffering through an extended drought. 

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow says she’s “very optimistic” that substantial new funding for farm bill conservation programs will be included in the $3.5 trillion spending agreement that Democrats have announced. Stabenow has been seeking $50 billion in new conservation funding to promote climate-friendly farming practices.

With President Joe Biden’s $2.7 trillion infrastructure plan in its beginning stages, western water interests and conservation groups are pushing for massive investments in water storage, conveyance and conservation projects to fix aging infrastructure and address persistent drought.