Accord Affects California’s Largest Interstate Source of Water
(March 9, 2006) After six years of drought on the Colorado River, the seven states that share the river’s water reached an agreement last week that will provide guidance and planning for future drought years and cooperation for avoiding costly litigation over potential interstate water feuds.
Water Supply in High Demand
The Colorado River is California’s largest interstate water source, with the state receiving a basic allotment of 4.4 million acre-feet (MAF) of water annually - plus a portion of any surplus water available - through the Colorado River Aqueduct.
Historically, California has brought in an average of 5.2 MAF per year due to surplus river water availability, but the drought and population spikes in Arizona and Nevada have made that surplus disappear.
More than 18 million people in parts of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties rely on this water source as a lifeline for the areas’ residential, business and agricultural communities.
The potential for drought and subsequent water shortages in the Colorado River are of serious concern to Southern California residents and businesses, which use more than 1.7 billion gallons of water per day.
New Management Guidelines
After mounting pressure from U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the Basin states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming - agreed to new guidelines for managing limited supplies of water when reservoirs are low.
Greater conservation efforts among the Lower Basin states - California, Arizona and Nevada - are to be combined with more prudent water usage by the Upper Basin states in hopes of increasing usable water supplies. California cities also are to focus on greater levels of seawater desalinization for additional use.
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| Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation |
The goals of the measures are to minimize Lower Basin shortages and to avert curtailment of uses in the Upper Basin.
Focus on Powell, Mead
Many of the proposed management improvements come from detailed guidelines to properly balance Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoir water levels.
For example, in years where Lake Powell’s water content is below 3,575 feet but above 3,525 feet, the Interior Department will release 7.48 MAF of water from Powell to replenish Mead, which provides both water and power to California, Arizona and Nevada.
Different water levels in Powell and Mead would result in the department transferring different amounts of water according to the detailed proposal.
Goal: Interstate Cooperation
The states sharing the Colorado River also made clear their intentions to improve cooperation and communication so the water supply can be delivered with greater certainty, and so circumstances that might lead to court battles over the application of the law might be avoided.
The proposal agreed upon by the Basin states now will be included in the U.S. Department of the Interior Environmental Impact Statement on the river’s future management.
The California Chamber of Commerce recognizes the importance of interstate cooperation when managing the Colorado River’s water supply and applauds the Basin states’ efforts to better protect water supply reliability and quality.
Staff Contact: Valerie Nera