• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Blog Home
  • Topics
    • Keystone Press Releases
    • Politics and Government
    • Legislation
    • Nevada News
    • Tourism & Gaming
    • Rural Nevada
    • Business
    • Opinion
  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • About Keystone Nevada

Keystone Nevada Korner

Welcome to The Keystone Korner The Official Blog of Keystone Nevada

Home » U.S. Orders Historic Colorado River Cuts to Drought-Stricken Southwest States

U.S. Orders Historic Colorado River Cuts to Drought-Stricken Southwest States

August 21, 2022 by Pauline Lee

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico bear brunt of latest reductions in effort to save Lake Mead, Lake Powell

by Jim Carlton, The Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2022

The federal government has declared an unprecedented new stage to the water shortage afflicting the Colorado River, triggering cutbacks likely to deepen economic damage to the Southwest driven by a long-running drought.

The cuts of less than one million acre-feet are lower than the two million to four million officials of the Bureau of Reclamation had told the seven states that use the river, as well as Mexico, to prepare for in an advisory two months ago. They notably leave out California, the river’s largest user, which would have been affected by bigger cuts.

An acre foot is enough water for a typical family of four for one year.

Bureau officials said they were prepared to impose additional cuts if cooperative efforts to achieve savings to prop up two of the river’s biggest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, don’t work. Officials said Tuesday that both reservoirs reached what is classified as a Tier 2 shortage for the first time.

“The system is approaching a tipping point and without action we cannot protect the system and the millions of Americans who rely on it,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a press briefing.

As of Tuesday, Lake Mead stood at an elevation of 1042.4 feet, the lowest since Hoover Dam was completed in 1936 to form the reservoir. Lake Powell stands at 3,534 feet, or 166 feet below its capacity.

The amount of water states and Mexico must lose is based on their priority in longstanding agreements. Under the new cuts announced Tuesday, Arizona must stop using 592,000 acre-feet, Nevada 25,000 and Mexico 104,000 during 2023. The total of 721,000—enough to meet the annual needs of Las Vegas—is about 100,000 higher than the cuts that were ordered after a first-ever Tier 1 shortage was declared last year.

Unusually strong monsoon rains this summer have helped replenish dry soils and reduce wildfire risk, but they added little to the reservoirs in part because so much water evaporates in the heat, water officials say. The reservoirs depend mostly on snowmelt runoff, which has sharply declined because of the warming climate, the officials said.

The region is locked in its worst drought in 1,200 years, according to a University of California, Los Angeles-led study earlier this year.

Bureau officials had warned in June that cuts were likely coming and put affected states on notice to either come up with reductions on their own or face having the agency do it for them.

However, the states so far have been unable to agree. A tension point has been the amount of water used by farmers, whose fields soak up as much as 80% of the Colorado’s water used by people, rather than for environmental purposes.

Reducing such allocations could raise food prices, according to agriculture officials. Reductions for cities are also likely, which could stunt their growth, urban planners say.

In addition, the Bureau of Reclamation has said both Lake Mead and Lake Powell soon could fall below the level needed to generate hydropower, which could disrupt the region’s electric grid.

The 1,450 mile Colorado River fuels $1.4 trillion in annual economic activity in the basin states, according to a 2015 study by Arizona State University.

Officials in Arizona objected to the amount of cuts that the federal government is demanding of them. “It is unacceptable for Arizona to continue to carry a disproportionate burden of reductions for the benefit of others who have not contributed,” Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, and Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project water agency, said in a statement.

Federal officials said Tuesday they were still hoping states will come up with a way to meet the necessary reductions. The officials also said they have begun administrative actions that would allow them to order states to take mandatory actions if they don’t reach their own agreements soon.

Officials offered no timeline on when any of such actions might go into effect.

“We believe the solution here is one of partnership, but we need to be able to protect the system,” Ms. Touton said.

The bureau is also looking at potential engineering fixes, such as allowing water to be released from the reservoirs at lower elevations. In addition, they plan to use $8.3 billion in federal infrastructure funding for efforts such as conservation and storage.

Some water users said a final plan could take at least two more months to finish, because the water rights are so complex they have to work together on any agreements.

In a letter Monday to federal regulators, John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, accused other users of coming up with unreasonable proposals—including for “drought profiteering.” In an interview, he singled out farming districts in Arizona and California that have offered to use less water on their crops in return for cash payments.

Farm officials say they have conserved, too, and called the money-for-water plan necessary to quickly achieve savings and help offset the economic impact.

In Yuma County, Ariz., four irrigation districts have put together a plan to pay farmers $1,500 for each acre foot of water they don’t use over 935,000 acres there over the next four years, said Wade Noble, general counsel for the districts.

The arrangement would represent a roughly one-fifth reduction in the farmers’ water use, which they would attempt to make up by improving crop yields. They could get compensation from $4 billion in drought relief Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.) negotiated to include in the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed Tuesday.

Filed Under: Nevada News Tagged With: Bureau of Reclamation, Colorado River, Hoover Dam, hydropower, Lake Mead, Southern Nevada Water Authority

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
Bootleg Bistro
Bootleg Bistro Ad
SLLC_Keystone_Blog-Ad_300x500_10%-Off-Repairs_05.19.21
CIOServices Ad 300x500-100
BRH Keystone Ad JPEG
Willow_Manor
Keystone Corporation Nevada

News Topics

  • Keystone Press Releases
  • Politics and Government
  • Legislation
  • Nevada News
  • Tourism & Gaming
  • Rural Nevada
  • Business
  • Opinion

Rural Nevada

Winnemucca braces for massive lithium mine

September 18, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Ray Hagar, Nevada Newsmakers, September 18, 2023 Winnemucca, a town of more than 8,600 residents off Interstate 80 in Northern Nevada, is proud … [Read More...] about Winnemucca braces for massive lithium mine

Weather may have slowed January sales

April 8, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By The Record Courier Staff, April 4, 2023 For the third month in a row, Douglas County merchants reported a decrease in taxable sales, though not … [Read More...] about Weather may have slowed January sales

30 new projects in Pahrump: Arby’s, Chipotle, Midas Muffler, 3 convenient stores & more

March 29, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Robin Hebrock, Pahrump Valley Times, March 28, 2023 Business is booming in the Pahrump Valley, with dozens of new companies looking to bring … [Read More...] about 30 new projects in Pahrump: Arby’s, Chipotle, Midas Muffler, 3 convenient stores & more

UPS and AVK America plan to expand in Douglas County

March 19, 2023 By Courtney Holland

Staff Reports for The Record Courier, March 17, 2023 United Parcel Service plans to build a new 168,000 square foot building in Douglas County, … [Read More...] about UPS and AVK America plan to expand in Douglas County

Opinion

EDITORIAL: Never Never Land for California regulators

September 25, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By the Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board, September 24, 2023 It’s shocking, but California’s efforts to force-feed electric vehicles to its … [Read More...] about EDITORIAL: Never Never Land for California regulators

OPINION: American mining needs Gen Z

September 25, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Rich Nolan, Reno Gazette Journal, September 18, 2023 By 2030, Gen Z will be 30 percent of the American workforce. This tech-savvy generation has … [Read More...] about OPINION: American mining needs Gen Z

OPINION: DExit to the desert: Why I left Delaware for Nevada

September 25, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Phil Shawn, The Nevada Independent, September 15th, 2023 Some 80 years ago, visionaries saw a dusty military outpost in the middle of the Nevada … [Read More...] about OPINION: DExit to the desert: Why I left Delaware for Nevada

Tags

Adam Laxalt Biden Administration Business Business Columns Casinos & Gaming Catherine Cortez Masto Clark County Clark County School District economy Editorials Education Elon Musk employment Gov. Joe Lombardo Gov. Steve Sisolak Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Housing inflation Inside Gaming Joe Lombardo las vegas Local Local Las Vegas Local Nevada mc-business mc-local mc-news mc-opinion Nevada News North Las Vegas NPRI Opinion Opinion Columns PAID Politics and Government Real Estate Insider Roe v. Wade school choice Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto small businesses Sports Tesla tourism Victor Joecks

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Keystone Corporation - All Rights Reserved · Log in
Privacy Policy
By accessing this site, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use

The views, opinions and conclusions expressed by the authors of any article or post on the Keystone Korner are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Keystone Corporation or its officers and board members. Moreover, any reference to a person, party, product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Keystone Corporation or its officers and board members.