Biden admin announces ‘historic’ plan to reduce western states’ water supply

The Biden administration announced Monday that seven western states had reached an agreement to conserve critical Colorado River system water supplies amid severe drought conditions.

The agreement — reached by the so-called Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada — ensures that at least 3 million acre-feet (maf), or 978 billion gallons, of Colorado River water supplies are conserved by 2027, according to the Department of the Interior (DOI) which has worked with states to address shortages. Under the plan, at least half of that amount will be conserved by 2025.

“There are 40 million people, seven states, and 30 Tribal Nations who rely on the Colorado River Basin for basic services such as drinking water and electricity,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement Monday.

“Today’s announcement is a testament to the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to working with states, Tribes and communities throughout the West to find consensus solutions in the face of climate change and sustained drought,” she continued.

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In its announcement, the DOI said 2.3 maf of the conserved water would be compensated through funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democratic climate and tax legislation President Biden signed last year. The remaining 0.7 maf would be made via voluntary, uncompensated reductions by the three Lower Basin states.

While Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming mainly receive water from smaller rivers that branch off the Colorado River, the Lower Basin states largely receive water pooled in Lake Powell, a man-made reservoir along the Utah-Arizona border, and Lake Mead, a reservoir along the Nevada-Arizona border. 

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The federally-managed Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona and Hoover Dam in southern Nevada are…