After a wet year and a push to conserve water in the Southwest, federal officials say the risk of the Colorado River’s reservoirs declining to critically low levels has substantially eased for the next couple of years.
Federal officials project more bad news for the drought-stressed Colorado River, which provides water to Las Vegas and much of the Southwest.
The Bureau of Reclamation issued a report last week saying there is a high likelihood over the next few years that California, the river’s largest water user, will join Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico in seeing cuts to its allocation.
Last week, President Trump inserted himself directly in a decades-long internal water battle between Northern and Southern California.
Now, the debate is heading to court.
“I’m very disappointed the Governor decided to sue. We’ve been working very closely with the State of California,” Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said.
After years on the sidelines, the Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman says new federal plans to divert water from the delta region in Northern California to farms in the southern part of the state will bring water where it’s needed most.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
