Lake Mead Water Warning Issued: ‘Painful Summer’
newsweek.com
America’s largest reservoirs face another tough year after new forecasts show lower-than-expected runoff into Lake Powell.…
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Colorado River
Opinion: U.S and Mexico must collaborate to manage water supply amid climate change
timesofsandiego.com
The water treaty between Mexico and the United States has been in place since 1944. It has been a fundamental pillar in the shared management of transboundary water resources. However, the realities of the 21st century, marked by climate change, growing agricultural demand, and prolonged droughts, are putting its validity and adequacy to the test.
The drought in northern Mexico has hampered compliance with the treaty during the current cycle, which ends on Oct. 24. It is worth mentioning that Mexico has not defaulted on deliveries but is delivering low percentages of the scheduled quota from the Rio Grande. This situation has generated diplomatic tensions, such as the United States’ refusal to supply Colorado River water to Tijuana, affecting border communities.…
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Reclamation strikes deal to conserve more Colorado River flows
E & E News Politico
The Interior Department announced that it will store an additional 321,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead — enough to raise the reservoir’s water level by 5 feet — through 2026, extending existing conservation agreements with water users in Arizona and California.
The agreements, which Interior said would build on 18 existing deals with tribal, municipal and agricultural water users, come amid negotiations over a long-term operating plan for the drought-stricken Colorado River.…
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Environmental groups file petition with Reclamation to curb Colorado River water waste
smartwatermagazine.com
A coalition of environmental and water advocacy organizations have filed a legal petition urging the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to stop waste of Colorado River water by users in California, Nevada, and Arizona. The petition, submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the UCLA Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic, with support from Waterkeepers and local groups, calls on the Bureau to use its legal authority to ensure water deliveries to Colorado River Lower Basin users are “reasonably required for beneficial uses” and are not delivered for uses that are “unreasonable”.
Under existing federal law, the Bureau of Reclamation is required to prevent unreasonable uses of water from the Colorado River. The petition demands that the agency enforce this responsibility and cease deliveries for uses that do not meet this standard.…
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Interior Secures 18 Short-Term Agreements to Boost Colorado River Conservation
doi.gov
WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation marked major progress for the continued short-term health of the Colorado River System. Eighteen short-term System Conservation Implementation agreements with water entitlement holders in Arizona and California have been negotiated to include additional conservation of Colorado River System water.
Interior and Reclamation are committed to working intensely with representatives of the governors of all seven Colorado River Basin states and tribal nations within the basin to forge a sound water management plan for the river that will promote the prosperity of all 40 million people living in the Basin for generations to come.…
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Interior Department renews agreements in hope of strengthening Colorado River conservation efforts
upi.com
May 7 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Interior said Wednesday it extended more than a dozen contracts with water-rights holders in California and Arizona that aim to boost water funding and conservation efforts in the Colorado River system for its seven western states.
Interior officials say it marked “major progress” with the Bureau of Reclamation in securing a continuation of 18 short-term agreements with tribal, municipal and agricultural water users in the lower Colorado River basin that will, they said, “result in additional water savings” through 2026 and, likewise, secure its short-term health as the region looks to its post-2026 water-use guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.…
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‘Something dramatic needs to be done’: Water use needs federal oversight, nonprofits say
reviewjournal.com
From the sprawling alfalfa fields of the Imperial Valley to the lush, water-guzzling grass of cities like Phoenix, the definition of what the feds consider “beneficial use” along the Colorado River needs an update, according to a coalition of nonprofits.
In a legal petition filed Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council and a group of river advocates urged the federal Bureau of Reclamation to use its power to better dictate how water can be used in the Lower Basin states of Nevada, California and Arizona. Its authors acknowledge that’s a bold request.…
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Groups call on Trump administration to curb wasteful use of Colorado River water
Los Angeles Times
Environmental groups are demanding that the Trump administration exercise the federal government’s authority to curb wasteful water use in an effort to address the Colorado River’s chronic water shortages.
In a petition submitted Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council and nine other groups called for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to enforce a provision of federal regulations stating that water deliveries in California, Arizona and Nevada “will not exceed those reasonably required for beneficial use.”…
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Water groups press Trump administration to stop Colorado River water waste
The Hill
National water conservation groups filed a legal petition Tuesday asking the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to stop downstream Colorado River users from wasting water.
The petition requests that the bureau ensure that all deliveries to Colorado River Lower Basin users — those in California, Nevada and Arizona — are “reasonably required for beneficial uses” and that water transfers are not “unreasonable.”…
Read the full article at The Hill
Groups call on Trump administration to curb wasteful use of Colorado River water
Los Angeles Times
Environmental groups are demanding that the Trump administration exercise the federal government’s authority to curb wasteful water use in an effort to address the Colorado River’s chronic water shortages.
In a petition submitted Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council and nine other groups called for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to enforce a provision of federal regulations stating that water deliveries in California, Arizona and Nevada “will not exceed those reasonably required for beneficial use.”…
Read the full article at Los Angeles Times