Federal officials have announced mandatory reductions in Colorado River water.
The U. S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation's plan will mean California, Nevada and Arizona will receive 1.25 million acre-feet less water each year for the next two years. Mexico will receive significantly less water from the river as well. The reductions are the result of record low water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell due t a 26-year prolonged drought. Overuse of the rivers water combined with the historic drought conditions have mandated the reductions. Arizona will see the largest cuts while Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico will see no cuts.
The Imperial Irrigation District has senior water rights and over the years has cooperated in the voluntary reduction of Colorado River water use through conservation, , agricultural efficiency, system improvements and voluntary transfer agreements. According to the IID, the next steps include the development of actins and agreements to implement the Operating Guidelines within the Lower Basin states and a separate intra-California agreement to implement the state provisions. IID board member and California's Colorado River negotiator was quoted as saying that the plan brings needed near-term certainty at a moment of extraordinary risk, called IID b the plan, " a bridge, not a permanent solution". IID Board ChairwomanKarin Eugenio said, " Our work now turns to implementation, and IID will remain fully engaged as those actions and agreements are developed".
