The potential paths forward outlined in the DEIS do not create a workable solution for those who rely on the river
DENVER - Colorado submitted comments on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Post-2026 Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The DEIS analyzes alternatives for future management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Colorado is a headwaters state with significant rights and interests in the Colorado River. Colorado supports a framework for sustainable management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead that rebuilds over two decades of depleted storage and minimizes risk to all who rely on the Colorado River.
Colorado appreciates the opportunity to engage in this process and looks forward to continued coordination with Reclamation and the Secretary of the Interior in advance of the Final EIS's publication. Colorado remains committed to engaging with the other Basin States, Colorado River Basin Tribes, water users, and stakeholders to work toward a solution that benefits everyone.
“The Colorado River is a life source for so many in our state and across the country, and we are working in good faith to reach an agreement that works for everyone and protects long-term operations for the River. Colorado knows what it means to live with drought and uncertainty. Each year, Colorado self-regulates our water usage based on available supply, but only through shared responsibility with the Lower Basin can we rise to this challenge. Our comments offer a realistic path forward that can help us meet this moment,” said Governor Jared Polis.
As detailed in Colorado’s comment letter, the DEIS is flawed in several ways: it inappropriately includes federal actions that are outside the Secretary of the Interior’s authorities, it fails to impose adequate shortages in the Lower Basin to protect the system, and it relies on water that doesn't exist to make certain alternatives work.
“The Colorado River has changed dramatically over the last two decades, and our operating rules need to change with it,” said Colorado River Commissioner Becky Mitchell. “The current rules have not done enough to protect Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and it’s clear that a future management framework must better respond to today’s reality. Colorado’s comments provide constructive, legally grounded recommendations to bring the system into balance. We appreciate the Interior’s consideration as it finalizes the Environmental Impact Statement.”
“We can no longer rely on the management strategies of the past to solve the challenges of the present and future,” said Colorado Water Conservation Board Director Lauren Ris. “While Colorado continues to lead with innovative conservation strategies through our Colorado Water Plan, we need a federal framework that recognizes the hydrologic reality of a shrinking river.”
Future management of the Colorado River must be sustainable, supply-driven, and better aligned with the equitable division of the river set forth in the 1922 Colorado River Compact and other components of the Law of the Colorado River. Failures of the current set of Guidelines developed in 2007 have driven the current crisis on the Colorado River. Under the 2007 Guidelines, releases from Lakes Powell and Mead were unsustainable and out of alignment with available supplies. Instead, these releases were driven by downstream demands. Over the course of these Guidelines, Lower Basin uses averaged 11 million acre-feet per year with reliance on Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Meanwhile, Upper Basin States self-regulate water usage when there isn’t enough available, averaging only 4.3 million acre-feet— more than 3 million acre-feet less than the Compact apportionment. The lack of available water in some years means that Colorado water users face mandatory, uncompensated cuts to their water supplies, averaging 600,000 acre-feet of shortages per year and 1.2 million acre-feet across the Upper Basin.
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