Federal officials are easing water restrictions in response to new Colorado River forecasts from the Bureau of Reclamation. An unusually snowy winter in the mountains helped replenish the beleaguered river and added water to the nation鈥檚 largest reservoirs. But the river鈥檚 users, which include seven Western states, 30 Native American tribes and Mexico, are still under pressure to reduce demand.
Overall water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell have been declining for more than two decades, and experts widely agree that one wet winter will not be enough to correct the river鈥檚 growing supply-demand imbalance. The snowy weather has, however, helped buy time for the negotiators who will decide how the river will be shared in the future. They are expected to agree on new guidelines for the river by 2026, when the current rules expire.
鈥淲e are still on the precipice of a lot of uncertainty,鈥� said Kyle Roerink, director of the nonprofit Great Basin Water Network. 鈥淭he precarious nature of our modern water cycle should give all water managers pause. We just have to think, how are we going to live in a world where there's going to be much less?鈥�
Human-caused climate change is making the Western U.S. warmer, upsetting the natural processes that keep water flowing through the Colorado River. At the same time, the river is seeing steady demand from tens of millions of people from Wyoming to Mexico. More than 70% of that demand for water, however, comes from agriculture.
New projections from Reclamation 鈥� the federal agency which manages Western water 鈥� show Lake Mead鈥檚 water level falling just below 1,068 feet in January of next year. A shortage is triggered any time that number is below 1,075 feet.
Reclamation releases a new version of the each month, projecting the next two years of water availability. The August study is used to determine if cutbacks are needed in the coming year.
In 2022, the agency鈥檚 August projections dealt the first-ever mandatory cutbacks to some water users and thrust the Colorado River鈥檚 supply-demand imbalance into the national spotlight. In 2023, those cuts were expanded.
This August study will roll back 2023鈥檚 water restrictions. New cuts, which will be put in place in 2024, are the same size as the cuts in place for 2022. Arizona will lose about 18% of its Colorado River supply and about 8% of the state鈥檚 total water use. Nevada will lose about 7% of its water allocation.
Current cutbacks are based on agreements written in 2007 and 2019.
The Central Arizona Project, which brings Colorado River water across the desert to supply the Phoenix area, will feel the brunt of Arizona鈥檚 cuts.
Brenda Burman, CAP鈥檚 director and former commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, said the cuts are difficult for farmers in Pinal County, but will not have short-term impacts on homes and businesses in the Phoenix metro area.
鈥淚n 2024,鈥� Burman said, 鈥淵ou should not be concerned about the water coming out of your faucet. But in the long term, you should know that we are in shortage. This is not something new. We expect that there is a smaller river.鈥�
Buying time
In the past four years, the amount of water stored in Lake Powell dropped particularly quickly. In April of 2023, water levels dipped to the lowest they鈥檝e been since the reservoir was first filled in the 1960s.
Conservationists who campaign for the draining of Lake Powell celebrated the return of once-submerged geological features and animal habitat, but water managers scrambled to protect infrastructure reliant on certain reservoir levels.
Hydroelectric generators within Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back Lake Powell, depend on a steady inflow of water to keep turbines spinning. During the recent stretch of dry years, electricity output decreased because of weaker flows, and if water levels dropped any lower, they would have fallen below the pipes that pull water into the generators and threatened irreparable damage.
鈥淲e're going to be back to the brink soon enough,鈥� Roerink said. 鈥淪o anyone who's resting on their laurels, whether it be folks in power markets or water users, I think are living in a fallacy.鈥�
Decisions about where to store the region鈥檚 water were, for a few years, shaped by the urgent need to prop up Lake Powell, keeping those turbines spinning and keeping electricity flowing to about 5 million people across seven states.
This year鈥檚 boost to Lake Powell is expected to lift some of that urgency and allow appointed negotiators from each of the seven states which use the river to focus on long-term decisions about the river鈥檚 future.
鈥淎ll of us who rely on the river,鈥� Burman said, 鈥淲ho rely on our amazing infrastructure, have to be able to come to the table and show how they can live with less."
This story is part of ongoing coverage of water in the West, produced by KUNC in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.
