WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Reclamation has announced a $284.8 million investment through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for long-term conservation projects in collaboration with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the Coachella Valley Water District. The projects, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, will conserve a combined 492,531 acre-feet of Colorado River water to shore up Lake Mead.
“These investments through the Lower Colorado Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program, are yielding hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water savings,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “Thanks to historic resources provided through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are advancing essential water infrastructure projects that mitigate the worst impacts of climate change and safeguard communities in the Colorado River Basin.”
The Biden-Harris administration has led an all-of-government effort to make Western communities more resilient to climate change and address the ongoing megadrought across the region by harnessing the full resources of President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda.?Additionally, the Administration continues to support life-saving wildfire response efforts in California. The Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program is a part of the commitment made by the Department of the Interior to address the drought crisis with prompt and responsive actions and investments to ensure the entire Colorado River Basin can function and support all who rely on it.
Reclamation is using the best available science and actively collaborating with water users across the Colorado River Basin to determine best ways to meet the Basin’s increasing conservation needs.
