Feds spare Upper Basin; states still feel water cuts pressure

The four Upper Basin states’ leaders celebrated the U.S. Department of Interior’s decision late August, but called for continued negotiations and longer-term solutions. The move was made amid a hot and dry wildfire season across much of the West, with areas in the Upper Basin cutting back on planned water projects.

“The water supply realities of the Basin cannot be ignored or papered over,” the four Upper Basin governors wrote in a statement after the Department of Interior’s Final Environmental Impact Statement in late July. “States in both the Upper and Lower divisions of the basin are feeling the pain of severe drought. This is a reality that all states, and the federal government, will need to address practically, which is why a seven-state agreement will provide the best outcome for all water users in the Colorado River Basin. We are committed to continued good-faith discussions with our counterparts.”

After an historically dry and warm winter across much of the West, the Colorado River has faced some major challenges this summer.

The country’s two largest reservoirs – Lake Powell, along the Arizona-Utah border, and Lake Mead, about 25 miles east of Las Vegas – have both fallen to their lowest ever water levels, triggering emergency water releases further up the Colorado River to maintain hydropower abilities.

The Upper Basin states - Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico - were all spared from federally imposed water cuts between 2027-2028 in the Department of Interior’s Record of Decision.

The Lower Basin states – California, Nevada and Arizona – were forced to accept up to 3 million acre-feet in annual water cuts for the next two years, nearly half their combined 7.5 million allocation.

The federal government plan proved to be too much for Nevada, which sued the Department of Interior in the days following its Record of Decision. In a statement on the lawsuit, Gov. Joe Lombardo criticized the Upper Basin states for not offering their own solutions.

“We’ve already shown that we’re willing to do our part, but the Colorado River is a shared resource, so the solution needs to involve everybody,” the Republican governor said. “Until that happens, we are prepared to fight for as long as it takes.”

While the Upper Basin states were not told to cut water use along the Colorado River, the states still face major questions over their water.

In Colorado, Denver Water announced Oct. 1 would be the end of lawn watering for its 1.5 million customers. The cutoff does not have an end date, but the company said it expected the change to last through spring. Customers had already been limited to two watering days per week, and will still be allowed to do some hand-watering for lawns.

“If you are the only one on your block with a lush green lawn, you might want to revisit your watering practices, as your overuse is compounding the impacts of this historic drought on our water storage supplies,” Greg Fisher, the Denver Water manager of demand planning, said late August.

Snowpacks, a crucial summer water source in Colorado, peaked low and early this year. Paired with the low Colorado River water flow, the state has experienced drought conditions for months on end. In Denver, reservoirs were at 71% full as of Aug. 31 compared to 93% at the same time on the average year, according to Denver Water.

The office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, did not respond to questions from The Center Square about the Colorado River water cuts decision or Nevada’s lawsuit.

Elsewhere in the Upper Basin, Utah has faced a statewide drought that has brought its reservoirs down to 52% as of Aug. 27, 15% below average for this time of year, according to the state's Department of Natural Resources.

The Upper Basin states will look ahead to this winter for relief to dried out reservoirs as negotiations continue with the Lower Basin states to reach an elusive Colorado River agreement that works for all parties.