Wednesday February 1, 2023
CBS Sacramento —
California released a plan Tuesday detailing how Western states reliant on the Colorado River should save more water. It came a day after the six other states in the river basin made a competing proposal.
In a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, California described how states could conserve between 1 million and nearly 2 million acre-feet of water through new cuts based on the elevation of Lake Mead, a key reservoir.
Its plan did not account for water lost to evaporation and during transportation — a move sought by the other states that would mean big cuts for California.
The 1,450-mile river (2,334-kilometer) serves 40 million people across the West and Mexico, generating hydroelectric power for regional markets and irrigating nearly 6 million acres (2,428 hectares) of farmland.