The Biden-Harris administration has announced a significant milestone in its efforts to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System and strengthen water security in the West.
With historic water conservation enabled by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Administration has staved off the immediate possibility of the Colorado River System’s reservoirs from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production. Due to record conservation investments as well as improved hydrology, Lake Mead levels today, at elevation 1075 feet, are the highest since May 2021, when they were at 1073 feet.
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation has released a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in the ongoing, collaborative effort to update the current interim operating guidelines for the near-
term operation of Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams to address the ongoing drought and impacts from the climate crisis.
The identified preferred alternative reflects a historic, consensus-based proposal – secured by the Biden-Harris administration in partnership with the seven Colorado Basin states – that will lead to at least 3 million acre-feet (maf) of system water conservation savings through the end of 2026, when the current guidelines expire.
As part of these water use reductions, the Department has also announced three new System Conservation Implementation Agreements that will commit water entities in California to conserve up to 399,153 acre-feet water in Lake Mead through 2026. The Department also announced additional progress with the Republic of Mexico to conserve Colorado River System water.
“Reclamation is grateful to our partners across the Basin – including the Basin states Governor’s Representatives, the 30 Basin Tribes, water managers, farmers and irrigators, municipalities, power contractors, non-governmental organizations, and other partners and stakeholders – for their unprecedented level of collaboration throughout this process,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “As we move forward, supported by historic investments from the President’s Investing in America agenda, we will continue working collaboratively to ensure we have long-term tools and strategies in place to help guide the next era of the Colorado River Basin.”
