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The Biden administration and southwestern Colorado River users have partnered on a large-scale conservation effort poised to bring significant relief to the region's key reservoir, officials announced on Wednesday.
The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation and Southern California stakeholders signed two short-term "Bucket 1" agreements — funded by the Inflation Reduction Act — to conserve more than 717,000 acre-feet of water by 2026.
"These agreements are proving critical to the stability of the Colorado River system," Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton said at a Wednesday signing ceremony. "These 'Bucket 1' agreements celebrated today will collectively add 10 feet to Lake Mead's elevation by 2026."
Touton was referring to the Colorado River's largest reservoir, which in recent years has been dwindling due to both over-consumption and climate-fueled drought conditions.
The Bucket 1 agreements were signed with the Imperial Irrigation District and Bard Water District, in partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
The deal with the Imperial Irrigation District alone will provide up to 700,000-acre-feet of system conservation for Lake Mead, through a total investment of about $589.2 million, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
The agreement with Metropolitan, which serves areas in and around Los Angeles, and Bard, located near California's southeastern border with Arizona, will enable the conservation of up to 17,100 acre-feet of water at a cost of $6.8 million.
For reference, the average American household uses about 1 acre-foot of water annually. A recent Bureau of Reclamation study projected that by Jan. 1, 2025, Lake Mead's elevation would be about 13 feet below the level that triggers a water shortage determination.
Federal officials on Wednesday also signed the first three longer-term, "Bucket 2" conservation agreements with Arizona's Gila River Indian Community, in an effort that is expected to conserve about 73,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water within the next decade.
Those agreements involve the investment of $107 million into three projects, out of a total $700 million allocated from the Inflation Reduction Act for conservation initiatives in the Colorado River's Lower Basin, which includes Nevada, Arizona and California.
Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community, said at Wednesday's ceremony that his community was "standing ready to look at any and all ways" to both address Colorado River system issues and to take the lead in various conservation projects.
The Gila River Indian Community has the rights to one of the biggest shares of Colorado River water among tribal nations in the Lower Basin — about 653,500 acre-feet of the basin's 7.5 million acre-feet.
The community has long been deeply involved and proactive in system-wide conservation efforts, taking a lead on various types of innovative water storage initiatives.
"We're not done yet," Lewis continued. "There is so much opportunity, both for the Gila River Indican Community and for our other sister tribal nations."
Meanwhile, the agency said it was negotiating potential contracts that could save more than 1 million acre-feet of water with Metropolitan Water District, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the Coachella Valley Water District, the City of Tucson, the San Diego County Water Authority, the Town of Gilbert, Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association & Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District and the City of Phoenix.
Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland stressed the Biden administration's commitment "to making western communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change," in a statement issued following the signing.
"The Interior Department is collaborating with states, tribes and partners to make smart investments to strengthen the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System to support the families, farmers and ecosystems that rely on this vital basin,” Haaland added.
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