Six of the seven states that use water from the Colorado River proposed a way for the federal government to cut back on water use and protect dropping water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
The plan attempts to correct an accounting problem. Each year, some water users in Nevada, Arizona and California are legally entitled to water in Lake Mead that does not physically exist, because it evaporates off of the reservoir’s surface before it ever has a chance to flow downstream. The total amount of evaporated water varies each year depending on reservoir levels and weather.
California’s absence from this agreement hints at the state’s desire to lean on its more protected legal status on the river. Critics say the river’s foundational 1922 compact is ill-suited toposed by the changing climate and fast-growing region. It operates on a system of “prior appropriation” in which the oldest water rights are the last to be impacted by cutbacks during times of shortage.
California’s proposal emphasizes the state’s desire to follow existing legal structures for river management, and says further steps could be taken if water levels at Lake Mead dip below 1,000 feet above sea level. Next, the Bureau of Reclamation will continue to mull the details of its Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, a document that will outline any necessary tweaks to the amount of water released from Powell and Mead.
The Bureau of Reclamation’s notice announcing the potential changes to reservoir operations said the draft supplemental EIS would be released in spring 2023, with a final decision in late summer 2023.
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