Arizona and California farmers, targets for Colorado River cuts, draft their conservation strategy
Knowing they are targets, farmers in southern Arizona and California who receive irrigation water from the Colorado River are discussing a plan that could go a long way toward meeting a federal conservation mandate in the drying basin. With key reservoirs Mead and Powell at record lows and despite the continued decline of the Salton Sea, federal officials are demanding historic cuts in water use next year, on the order of 2 million to 4 million acre-feet, or roughly one-third of the river’s recent annual flow.
Related article:
- Desert Sun: Two water districts eye hefty Colorado River cuts
- Arizona Republic: Arizona must rethink farming to save it as massive water cuts loom
- John Fleck’s Inkstain Blog: At this point, a voluntary “2 to 4 million acre feet of additional conservation” Colorado River deal by Aug. 16 seems out of reach
- Aspen Journalism: West Slope water managers ask: What authority do the feds have?
