$125 million to rent water for Colorado River drought
Upper Colorado River Basin states have a new $125 million pot to rent and dry agricultural land and keep more water in the drought-plagued waterway, in a major expansion of a previous conservation pilot announced by the Biden administration’s Bureau of Reclamation. Colorado politicians called the new funding key to the state’s ability to make its share of emergency water use cuts ordered by federal officials who are scrambling to keep enough water in the major basin reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and meet minimum allocations to Lower Basin states. About 40 million people rely on Colorado River water. The system pilot pays farmers, ranchers and other river users, potentially including municipal or industrial consumers, for temporary and voluntary use of their valuable water rights.
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