Monday October 23, 2023
KVVU —
The Southern Nevada Water Authority announced that the state will continue to collaborate with Arizona and California on a long-term sustainable plan for the stability of the Colorado River.
According to a media release, the Bureau of Reclamation is moving the process forward to develop new operating guidelines for the Colorado River that will be in effect after 2026. To that end, the Lower Colorado River Basin states— water users in Nevada, Arizona and California—are contributing record volumes of water to Lake Mead.
By the end of 2023, the Lower Basin cumulatively will have voluntarily conserved more than 1 million acre-feet—water that is being held back in Lake Mead for the benefit of the entire system over and above shortage reductions agreed to in 2007 and those of the 2019 Drought Contingency Plan. In 2023, consumptive use in the Lower Basin states is expected to be around 5.8 million acre-feet, the lowest consumptive use since 1984.