In the culmination of a process that has been years in the making, Colorado officials Wednesday announced the creation of a state-run water conservation program. In what officials are calling a “near-term contribution program,” the Upper Basin states (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) will pay water users to voluntarily cut back in 2027 and 2028, using $100 million in promised funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Colorado will now join Utah and Wyoming in setting up a conservation program within their respective states. … These types of conservation programs have traditionally targeted agricultural water users, often seen as the low-hanging fruit for water savings because they use the majority of Colorado River water. But officials are hoping this program will have participation across all water-use sectors, including municipal and industrial.

Other Colorado River management news:

• KJZZ (Phoenix): The Colorado River’s biggest reservoirs are in ‘uncharted territory’ after new record low
• The Salt Lake Tribune: The Colorado River’s 2 biggest reservoirs just hit a new record low
• The Washington Post: A major Colorado River reservoir is getting ‘perilously’ low
• Steamboat Pilot & Today (Steamboat Springs, Colo​.): Water releases for Yampa River begin out of Elkhead Reservoir to combat low flows
• KUNM (Albuquerque, N.M.): Tribes, states, and the federal government battle for Colorado River water rights