By Taylor Rice
On Monday, May 22, a key deal between California, Arizona, and Nevada was announced. The deal between the states is meant to conserve water in the drought-stricken Colorado River.
After months of negotiation the 3 states finally came to a proposed agreement on the $1.2 billion plan under threat of more extreme water cuts by the federal government. In the deal, the 3 states would conserve 3 million acre-feet of water through 2026. According to The Guardian the deal will cut, “13% of the total water use in the lower Colorado basin, a historic reduction that will likely trigger significant water restrictions on the region’s residents and farmland.”
A majority of the water cuts will come from California, about 1.6 million acre-feet. The remaining cuts will be taken from Arizona and Nevada. Bill Hasencamp, manager of Colorado River resources for the Metropolitan Water District, has informed the Los Angeles Times that the reductions meant to occur in California are similar to the ones that the state’s water managers have proposed for several months. Hasencamp stated, “It’s a win for California, but it’s a win for the basin, once again, after a year of acrimony, we are at least now on the same page going forward.”
The proposed changes will be in effect until 2026; where, afterwards, they will expire. While it’s not yet clear if the cuts will amount to anything in the face of the worsening aridification of the region, they do bring hope for a possible solution. The Biden ministration has stated that they’ll analyze the proposal made by the states before coming to a finalized decision later in the year.
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