The Bureau of Reclamation has released the Colorado River Basin August 2024 24-Month Study, which determines the operating tiers for the coordinated operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead for 2025.
Based on projections in the study, Lake Powell will operate in a Mid-Elevation Release Tier in water year 2025 and Lake Mead will operate in a Level 1 Shortage Condition with required shortages by Arizona and Nevada, coupled with Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan water savings contributions, in calendar year 2025. Mexico’s water delivery, which includes reductions and water savings, is consistent with Minutes 323 and 330.
The lifeblood of the American West, the Colorado River Basin provides water for more than 40 million people, fuels hydropower resources in seven U.S. states and is a crucial resource for 30 Tribal Nations and two states in Mexico, and supports 5.5 million acres of agriculture and agricultural communities across the West. In 2021, in response to historic drought in the Basin, the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation initiated a historic, consensus-based process with the communities who rely on the river to update near-term operating guidelines for the river’s two largest dams – Glen Canyon and Hoover, and to prepare the region for the future.
Through the President’s Investing in America agenda, Reclamation is leveraging nearly $13 billion in critical investments across the west through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. These funds have helped the federal government secure a series of historic water conservation agreements across the Basin states, while investing in state-of-the-art upgrades to the West’s aging water infrastructure. Overall, investments will lead to at least 3 million acre-feet of system water conservation savings through the end of 2026, when the current guidelines expire.
While the Colorado River System continues to face low reservoir storage with Lake Powell and Lake Mead at a combined storage of 37% of capacity, investments in infrastructure improvements and system conservation have helped stabilize the Colorado River System in the near term and strengthen water security in the West.
“The Colorado River System is already showing significant improvements as a result of water savings from the historic investments in conservation and infrastructure improvements through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “These investments provide funding to local, state, and Tribal communities to tackle the climate crisis and unprecedented drought conditions.”
Water conservation agreements implemented under the Lower and Upper Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Programs, funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act, bridge the immediate need?to protect the Colorado River System while moving toward more durable, long-term solutions.
Additionally, Reclamation recently announced a funding opportunity for ecosystem and habitat restoration projects in the Upper Colorado River Basin to address impacts caused by drought. These funds help increase community and landscape resiliency while restoring habitats and assisting in species recovery.
