The lower Colorado River in the California portion of the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Monday’s historic Colorado River agreement represents a big win for California, which only months ago was embroiled in a bitter feud with Arizona, Nevada and four other Western states over how to dramatically reduce their use of water supplies in the shrinking river.
The proposition, which came after months of tense negotiations, would see the three states in the Colorado’s lower basin conserve about 3 million acre-feet of water from the river by 2026 — a 14% reduction across the Southwest that amounts to only about half of what could have been imposed by the federal government had the states not come to an accord.
“It’s a win for California, but it’s a win for the entire basin that, once again, after a year of acrimony, we are at least now on the same page going forward,” said Bill Hasencamp, manager of Colorado River resources for the Metropolitan Water District.
Though some details have yet to be disclosed, the plan would see the majority of the cuts, about 1.6 million acre-feet, come from California. The remainder would be split between Arizona and Nevada, with the former taking the lion’s share of those losses.
Read more at LA Times.