As adjacent Western states, California and Nevada share similar
issues related to drought and limited water resources. Both
states are participants in the 1922 Colorado River Compact and
the 2003 and 2007 Quantification Settlement Agreements to
allocate Colorado River deliveries. Also, about two-thirds of
Lake Tahoe lies in California and one-third in Nevada, and the
two states have formed a compact to work together on
environmental goals for the lake.
A bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers are forming a
“Congressional Colorado River Caucus,” with the goal of
collaborating on ways to best address worsening drought
conditions across the seven-state basin. … [Rep. Joe]
Neguse, who serves as ranking member of the House Subcommittee
on Federal Lands, announced the creation of the caucus, which
will include members from six of the seven Colorado River
states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and
Utah. The lawmakers intend to discuss the critical issues
affecting the Colorado River, which provides water for 40
million people across the West. Members of the caucus will work
“together towards our shared goal to mitigate the impacts felt
by record-breaking levels of drought,” according to Neguse.
Lawmakers in Nevada are considering new rules that would give
water managers the authority to cap how much water residents
could use in their homes, a step that reflects the dire
conditions on the Colorado River after more than two decades of
drought. Among the Western states that rely on the
Colorado River for sustenance, Nevada has long been a leader in
water conservation, establishing laws that limit the size of
swimming pools and ban decorative grass. Residents now consume
less water than they did 20 years ago.
Lake Powell is currently close to 180 feet below full pool and
coming off a summer last year where several boat ramps were
closed and owners were advised to retrieve their houseboats
from the docks. Releases from a couple of upstream reservoirs,
including Flaming Gorge, were made last summer to help the
nation’s second largest reservoir and its Glen Canyon Dam,
which provides power generation to Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Nebraska. A Monday briefing
from the drought integrated information center of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there is wet relief
on the way for Lake Powell, which typically gets its maximum
flows well into July.
Ornamental lawns are banned in Las Vegas, the size of new
swimming pools is capped and much of the water used in homes is
sent down a wash to be recycled, but Nevada is looking at
another significant step to ensure the water supply for one of
the driest major metropolitan areas in the U.S. State lawmakers
on Monday are scheduled to discuss granting the power to limit
what comes out of residents’ taps to the Southern Nevada Water
Authority, the agency managing the Colorado River supply to the
city. If lawmakers approve the bill, Nevada would be the first
state to give a water agency permanent jurisdiction over the
amount of residential use. The sweeping omnibus bill is one of
the most significant to go before lawmakers this year in
Nevada, one of seven states that rely on the Colorado River.
A particularly wet season has swept across the southwestern
U.S., a region that has suffered under a severe megadrought for
over two decades. But what has this meant for Colorado River
reservoir Lake Mead? Storms of rain and snow have hit
California particularly badly in recent months, and have spread
into neighboring states like Nevada. Reservoirs like Lake Mead
rely on seasonal snowmelt and rainfall. Because of the drought,
these weather patterns have been less frequent and harder to
predict in recent. This means water levels at the largest
man-made lake in the U.S., Lake Mead, are rapidly declining.
States that use water from the Colorado River are caught in a
standoff about how to share shrinking supplies, and their
statements about recent negotiations send mixed messages.
California officials say they were not consulted as other
states in the region drew up a letter to the federal government
with what they called a “consensus-based” set of
recommendations for water conservation. Leaders in states that
drafted the letter disagree with that characterization. The
reality of what happened during negotiations may lie somewhere
in between, as comments from state leaders hint at possible
differences between their definitions of what counts as
“consultation.” The squabble is a microcosm of larger tensions
between states that use water from the Colorado River.
The last time the Colorado River Basin agreed to a set of
reductions to address drought conditions and dropping levels at
Lake Mead was in 2019. … Now, states are looking to cut far
more water than the 2019 agreement yielded, and on a much
shorter negotiation timeline. After the seven states that rely
on the Colorado River to provide water to roughly 40 million
Americans missed two deadlines from the federal government to
work out a consensus plan, there are two proposals from the
basin states on the table that offer different paths for how to
meet the target. The two proposals arrive at a similar number
of potential new cuts to water use across the basin, but draw a
clear line in the sand between California’s desire to protect
its senior water rights, much of which are tied up in the
agriculture sector, and the desire of the other six states to
have California, Nevada and Arizona share the cuts more
equitably.
While western states work to hash out a plan to save the
crumbling Colorado River system, officials from Southern Nevada
are preparing for the worst — including possible water
restrictions in the state’s most populous county. The Nevada
Legislature last week introduced Assembly Bill 220, an omnibus
bill that comes from the minds of officials at the Southern
Nevada Water Authority. Most significantly, the legislation
gives the water authority the ability to impose hefty water
restrictions on individual homes in Southern Nevada, where
three-quarters of Nevada’s 3.2 million residents live and rely
on the drought-stricken Colorado River for 90 percent of their
water. … The bill, if approved and signed into law in its
current form, would stand as another substantial step toward
conserving Nevada’s water …
The Hoover Dam is one of the most impactful engineering feats
in American history. Completed on March 1, 1936, the dam spent
nearly a century harnessing the mighty Colorado River and
transforming parts of the arid Southwest into fertile farmlands
and bustling city centers. Here’s a look at the dam’s history
and how it shaped the region. The history of Hoover
Dam began in 1921, when a young Secretary of Commerce,
Herbert Hoover, proposed the construction of a dam on the
Colorado River. At the time, the Colorado River, which ran
uninterrupted from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf
of California, was considered dangerous and unreliable.
According to the National Park Service, the river would
often flood, particularly in late spring and early summer,
when snow melted from the Rocky Mountains would surge
into the river.
Once hailed as the “American Nile,” the Colorado River spans
1,450 miles and supplies nearly 40 million people across seven
states plus northern Mexico with drinking water, irrigation for
farmland and hydroelectric power. But after decades of drought
and overuse, major reservoirs along the river are drying
up. As the Colorado River levels drop to historic lows,
tensions are rising between the seven states that depend on its
flow — Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah
and Wyoming. Their original agreement for distributing the
river water lacked foresight and failed to account for dire
circumstances like long-term drought. The American
Southwest now faces a crisis it knew was coming.
The immediate question before the seven states that use rapidly
vanishing Colorado River water is not how to renegotiate the
century-old agreement and accompanying laws that divvy up the
supply. California and other states will have to grapple with
that problem soon enough, and it won’t be easy. Those accords
were hammered out in an era when the Western U.S. was lightly
populated, farmland was not yet fully developed and the climate
— although few realized it at the time — was unusually wet.
Now, when the thirst is greatest and still growing, the region
is reverting to its former aridity, exacerbated by higher
temperatures caused by global industrialization. But the
deadline for that reckoning is still nearly four years off.
Alongside farmers, ranchers and sprawling urban cities, Mother
Nature has long sipped her share of the Colorado River —
draining away enough water through evaporation and seepage to
support nearly 6 million families each year. But as
decades of drought strain major reservoirs in the Mountain
West, threatening future water supplies and hydropower, states
are divided over who should be picking up nature’s tab for the
huge amount of water lost on the 1,500-mile-long
waterway. The Upper Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico,
Utah and Wyoming — already account for some 468,000 acre-feet
of water that evaporates from its reservoirs each
year.
Tens of thousands of private well owners across parts of
Nevada, California and Utah might be drinking water that
contains unhealthy levels of arsenic, according to a new study
from Desert Research Institute. The study, led by researchers
at the institute and the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and
published this month in “Environmental Science and Technology,”
used data from a previous Desert Research Institute analysis of
water from domestic wells in Nevada to build a model to predict
which areas have elevated levels of arsenic. The new model
showed that more than 49,000 well users across the region are
at risk of being exposed to levels of arsenic in their water
that could lead to significant long-term health problems.
Much of the Colorado River’s water is diverted from reservoirs
and transported in canals to the farmlands and cities of the
desert Southwest. But some of the water also ends up going
elsewhere — vanishing into thin air. Water lost to evaporation
has become a central point of contention in the disagreement
between California and six other states over how to divide
reductions in water use. A proposal submitted by Arizona,
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming calls for
relying heavily on counting evaporation and other water losses
from reservoirs and along the river in the Lower Basin — the
portion of the watershed that begins near the Grand Canyon and
stretches to northern Mexico.
Momentum is building for a unique
interstate deal that aims to transform wastewater from Southern
California homes and business into relief for the stressed
Colorado River. The collaborative effort to add resiliency to a
river suffering from overuse, drought and climate change is being
shaped across state lines by some of the West’s largest water
agencies.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
Las Vegas, known for its searing summertime heat and glitzy casino fountains, is projected to get even hotter in the coming years as climate change intensifies. As temperatures rise, possibly as much as 10 degrees by end of the century, according to some models, water demand for the desert community is expected to spike. That is not good news in a fast-growing region that depends largely on a limited supply of water from an already drought-stressed Colorado River.
This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Even as stakeholders in the Colorado River Basin celebrate the recent completion of an unprecedented drought plan intended to stave off a crashing Lake Mead, there is little time to rest. An even larger hurdle lies ahead as they prepare to hammer out the next set of rules that could vastly reshape the river’s future.
Set to expire in 2026, the current guidelines for water deliveries and shortage sharing, launched in 2007 amid a multiyear drought, were designed to prevent disputes that could provoke conflict.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour.
Silverton Hotel
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
Nowhere is the domino effect in
Western water policy played out more than on the Colorado River,
and specifically when it involves the Lower Basin states of
California, Nevada and Arizona. We are seeing that play out now
as the three states strive to forge a Drought Contingency Plan.
Yet that plan can’t be finalized until Arizona finds a unifying
voice between its major water players, an effort you can read
more about in the latest in-depth article of Western Water.
Even then, there are some issues to resolve just within
California.
It’s high-stakes time in Arizona. The state that depends on the
Colorado River to help supply its cities and farms — and is
first in line to absorb a shortage — is seeking a unified plan
for water supply management to join its Lower Basin neighbors,
California and Nevada, in a coordinated plan to preserve water
levels in Lake Mead before
they run too low.
If the lake’s elevation falls below 1,075 feet above sea level,
the secretary of the Interior would declare a shortage and
Arizona’s deliveries of Colorado River water would be reduced by
320,000 acre-feet. Arizona says that’s enough to serve about 1
million households in one year.
We explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop
of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad
sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and
climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs was the focus of this tour.
Hampton Inn Tropicana
4975 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118
This issue of Western Water discusses the challenges
facing the Colorado River Basin resulting from persistent
drought, climate change and an overallocated river, and how water
managers and others are trying to face the future.
This three-day, two-night tour explored the lower Colorado River
where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand
is growing from myriad sources — increasing population,
declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs is the focus of this tour.
Best Western McCarran Inn
4970 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36
inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and
its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and
Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin.
Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the
Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and
wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin
Area Office.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including
the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text
explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson
rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery
restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many
of these issues.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the
water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the
environment. It features natural and manmade water resources
throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers,
Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River
that forms the state’s eastern boundary.
Redesigned in 2017, this beautiful map depicts the seven
Western states that share the Colorado River with Mexico. The
Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people in
Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
and the country of Mexico. Text on this beautiful, 24×36-inch
map, which is suitable for framing, explains the river’s
apportionment, history and the need to adapt its management for
urban growth and expected climate change impacts.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Nevada Water provides an
overview of the history of water development and use in Nevada.
It includes sections on Nevada’s water rights laws, the history
of the Truckee and Carson rivers, water supplies for the Las
Vegas area, groundwater, water quality, environmental issues and
today’s water supply challenges.
The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people and 4
million acres of farmland in a region encompassing some 246,000
square miles in the southwestern United States. The 32-page
Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River covers the history of the
river’s development; negotiations over division of its water; the
items that comprise the Law of the River; and a chronology of
significant Colorado River events.
This printed issue of Western Water examines how the various
stakeholders have begun working together to meet the planning
challenges for the Colorado River Basin, including agreements
with Mexico, increased use of conservation and water marketing,
and the goal of accomplishing binational environmental
restoration and water-sharing programs.
This issue of Western Water examines the challenges facing state,
federal and tribal officials and other stakeholders as they work
to manage terminal lakes. It includes background information on
the formation of these lakes, and overviews of the water quality,
habitat and political issues surrounding these distinctive bodies
of water. Much of the information in this article originated at
the September 2004 StateManagement Issues at Terminal Water
Bodies/Closed Basins conference.
