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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Federal officials have released the finalized plans for Colorado River operations through 2028, including water cuts for Arizona, along with a 10-year plan to combat the Lake Powell and Lake Mead crisis as both reservoirs sit at their lowest combined levels.
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Under the plan, the seven states that rely on the river, Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, will see combined cuts to Lower Basin water deliveries of 1.25 million acre-feet each year for the next two years.
If a proposed sharing agreement among Arizona, California and Nevada takes effect, Arizona would absorb a 760,000-acre-foot cut, California 440,000 acre-feet and Nevada 50,000 acre-feet.
The guidelines call for Lower Basin states to voluntarily conserve and store at least 700,000 additional acre-feet over the two years, and for Upper Basin states, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, to coordinate operations at three additional reservoirs to help protect Glen Canyon Dam.
Other provisions include a federally managed water pool to help meet tribal water obligations and elevation triggers that would prompt further consultation if conditions worsen.
The guidelines set a minimum target elevation of 3,510 feet at Lake Powell to protect Glen Canyon Dam’s infrastructure. Both Lake Powell and Lake Mead hit record-low levels in recent weeks amid a prolonged Western drought.
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Based on the new rules, the Bureau of Reclamation said Lake Powell will start the water year on Oct. 1 between 3,540 and 3,510 feet in elevation, with releases of 6 million to 7 million acre-feet — lower than typical — to help protect the 3,510-foot threshold.
Lake Mead deliveries to the Lower Basin will be cut by 1.25 million acre-feet in 2027.
“Forty million people, millions of acres of farmland and ranchland, industries that power the American West, and some of our nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas depend on the Colorado River,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
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