Highlighting Important Environmental Decisions: Colorado River Basin Emergency Plan
Beginning in the Continental Divide within Rocky Mountain National Park, the Colorado River supports seven states, parts of Mexico, and 30 Native American Tribes. (1) On top of this, one-third of the entire Latino population in the United States lives in the Colorado River Basin. (2) At 1,450 miles long, this river is the sixth longest river in the United States. (3)
The Colorado River Basin is split into the Upper and Lower Basin states. The Upper Basin includes Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, while the Lower Basin includes Arizona, California, Nevada, and New Mexico. (4) The Upper Colorado River Basin Compact allows Arizona to use 50,000 acre-feet of water from the Upper Colorado Basin annually, Colorado to use 50.75%, New Mexico to use 11.25%, Utah to use 23%, and Wyoming to use 14%. (5) Additionally, a United States Supreme Court decision held that, out of the first 7,500,000 acre-feet of mainstem water in the Lower Basin, California is entitled to 4,400,000 acre-feet, Arizona is entitled to 2,800,000 acre-feet, and Nevada is entitled to 300,000 acre-feet. (6) Additionally, Mexico is guaranteed 1,500,000 acre-feet of the Colorado River annually, subject to increase or decrease. (7)
Unfortunately, the Colorado River has been over-allocated since the creation of the Colorado River Water Compact in 1922, which was unrealistically optimistic by relying on data from one of the wettest 10-year periods in history. (8) This, combined with multiple diversions, dams, overuse, droughts, and climate change, has created a permanent deficit on the Colorado River. (9) Thus, Lake Mead and Lake Powell reached their lowest levels on record this year, threatening hydroelectric energy production. (10)
The U.S. Senate held a hearing about the drought in the western United States on June 14, 2022. (11) During the hearing, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton declared that Colorado River Basin states had 60 days to create an emergency plan to stop using between 2 and 4 million acre-feet of water over the next year, or the Bureau would make cuts itself. (12) The Bureau recently gave the states more time to come to an agreement and imposed previously- agreed upon reductions in Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico. (13)
The Colorado River Basin states have not yet agreed on a plan to achieve the required cuts. On July 18, 2022, the Upper Basin states submitted a proposal to the Bureau of Reclamation outlining how they will reduce their use. (14) The Upper Basin states argued that what they could do was limited and that “data shows that Lower Basin and Mexico depletions are more than double the depletions in the Upper Basin. Therefore, additional efforts to protect critical reservoir elevations must include significant actions focused downstream of Lake Powell.” (15) They also outlined a five-point plan for protecting the Colorado River. (16)
From 1985-2010, total water use in the Colorado River Basin averaged about 17 million acre-feet, and the majority of total water use came from hydroelectric and crop irrigation. (17) Focusing on rivers in the state of Colorado, less than 40% of the streamflow originating in Colorado is consumed within the state each year. (18) Additionally, Colorado uses about 4,700,000 acre-feet of water for agriculture, 400,000 acre-feet of water for municipal and industrial purposes, and 200,000 acre-feet of self-supplied water for industrial use. (19)
Long story short, the Colorado River is in danger. It is up to the states in the Colorado River Basin and the federal government to come up with creative solutions to minimize their use of the river, mitigate against drought and climate change, and protect the many communities that rely on this river.
(1) “Colorado River,” https://www.americanrivers.org/river/colorado- river/?gclid=CjwKCAjwo_KXBhAaEiwA2RZ8hJ_iN5r8hWEGTaZwqilQrW7YSQ_USx9weU9TuVFkK3sb-CMh6MibGRoCc0AQAvD_BwE; “Colorado River states need to drastically cut down their water usage ASAP, or the federal government will step in,” https://www.cpr.org/2022/06/17/colorado-river-states-need-to-reduce-water-use/.
(2) “Colorado River,” https://www.americanrivers.org/river/colorado-river/?gclid=CjwKCAjwo_KXBhAaEiwA2RZ8hJ_iN5r8hWEGTaZwqilQrW7YSQ_USx9weU9TuVFkK3sb-CMh6MibGRoCc0AQAvD_BwE.
(3) Id.
(4) “Upper Basin of the Colorado River,” https://www.americanrivers.org/river/upper-basin-colorado-river/; “Lower Basin of the Colorado River,” https://www.americanrivers.org/river/lower-basin-colorado-river/.
(5) “Hoover Dam: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers: The Colorado River,” https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/riverfaq.html#:~:text=How%20is%20Colorado%20River%20water,Colorado%20River%20system%20in%20perpetuity.
(6) Id.
(7) Id.
(8) “Colorado River,” https://www.americanrivers.org/river/colorado-river/?gclid=CjwKCAjwo_KXBhAaEiwA2RZ8hJ_iN5r8hWEGTaZwqilQrW7YSQ_USx9weU9TuVFkK3sb-CMh6MibGRoCc0AQAvD_BwE.
(9) “Colorado River,” https://www.americanrivers.org/river/colorado-river/?gclid=CjwKCAjwo_KXBhAaEiwA2RZ8hJ_iN5r8hWEGTaZwqilQrW7YSQ_USx9weU9TuVFkK3sb-CMh6MibGRoCc0AQAvD_BwE; “Colorado River states need to drastically cut down their water usage ASAP, or the federal government will step in,” https://www.cpr.org/2022/06/17/colorado-river-states-need-to-reduce-water-use/.
(10) “Colorado River states need to drastically cut down their water usage ASAP, or the federal government will step in,” https://www.cpr.org/2022/06/17/colorado-river-states-need-to-reduce-water-use/.
(11) Id.
(12) Id.
(13) “U.S. spares Western states from Colorado River water cuts—for now,” https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-western-states-deadlocked-cutting-colorado-river-use-2022-08-16/.
(14) “Colorado and other upstream states have a plan to help save the Colorado River. It doesn’t include any mandatory water cuts,” https://www.cpr.org/2022/07/19/colorado-river-upper-basin-water-plan/.
(15) “Upper Division States 5 Point Plan for Additional Actions to Protect Colorado Storage Project Initial Units,”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22089578-2022-july-18-letter-to-reclamation.
(16) Id.
(17) “Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Water Use,” https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/colorado-river-basin-focus-area-study-water-use.
(18) “Water Uses,” https://waterknowledge.colostate.edu/water-management-administration/water-uses/.
(19) Id.
