One cannot overstate the importance of Colorado River water in the evolution of Southern California from a collection of small cities and villages into a megaregion of 20-plus million people — more than the population of all but three states.
Tuesday’s announcement by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that it would require Arizona and Nevada to reduce their annual allocation of water from the Colorado River came as no surprise to most water experts.
The reductions announced by Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton have been part of a long-standing agreement, known as the interim guidelines, since 2007.
San Diegans on Tuesday continued to avoid any immediate repercussions from the 22-year megadrought that has ravaged the Colorado River, threatening the water supply of 40 million people across the American West. The region gets more than half its water from the river through a 2003 deal with farmers in the Imperial Valley, which has so far proved a prescient, albeit costly maneuver.
The mighty Colorado River isn’t so mighty anymore. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Tuesday steps will be taken to protect the increasingly fragile source of water.
“The worsening drought crisis impacting the Colorado River Basin is driven by the effects of climate change, including extreme heat and low precipitation. In turn, severe drought conditions exacerbate wildfire risk and ecosystems disruption, increasing the stress on communities and our landscapes,” said Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau.
For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures more drought, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Though the cuts will not result in any immediate new restrictions — like banning lawn watering or car washing — they signal that unpopular decisions about how to reduce consumption are on the horizon, including whether to prioritize growing cities or agricultural areas. Mexico will also face cuts.
The federal government on Tuesday spared five Western states from immediate Colorado River water cutbacks, but continued existing limits for Arizona and Nevada and warned that drastic conservation was needed to protect dwindling reservoirs from severe drought.
After Colorado River Basin states failed to meet a deadline for emergency drought reductions Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced new emergency water cuts for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico as the nation’s two largest reservoirs decline to perilously low levels.
San Diego and the rest of California won’t have to shoulder any mandatory water cuts from the Colorado River next year, unlike Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the federal government’s water manager, unveiled Tuesday how it predicts this decades-long drought will affect major reservoirs next year. The levels of those reservoirs serve as a barometer for how much water the river’s seven basin states and Mexico can receive. The Colorado River, the largest freshwater source for the western U.S. and northwestern Mexico, provides enough water for 40 million people and fuels a massive agricultural industry.
For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures an extreme drought, federal officials announced Tuesday. California has avoided cutbacks for now.
For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures more drought, federal officials announced Tuesday.
The cuts planned for next year will force states to make critical decisions about where to reduce consumption and whether to prioritize growing cities or agricultural areas. Mexico will also face cuts.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
