Southern California Water Giant Strikes $65 Million Deal To Help Prop Up Lake Mead

In a bid to prop up a rapidly shrinking Lake Mead and protect the Southwest’s electricity grid, Southern California’s primary water wholesaler approved a deal Tuesday to leave up to 200,000 acre-feet of its Colorado River supply in the reservoir this year.

Under the agreement, the federal government will pay the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) $325 per acre-foot–up to $65 million total–to keep the water in the reservoir rather than delivering it to Southern California cities. The funding is backed by the federal Inflation Reduction Act’s Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program.