What the Colorado River Deal Means for California
Finally a deal.
After a months-long stalemate over how to keep the depleted Colorado River from running completely dry, an agreement was announced Monday: California, Arizona and Nevada will each draw less water from the river, which supplies drinking water to 40 million Americans, irrigates 5.5 million acres of farmland and helps power millions of homes and businesses.
In recent years, the Colorado River’s flow has shrunk by a third from its historical average due to drought, population growth and climate change. One expert called the dwindling water supply in the Colorado Basin a “slow-motion disaster.”
To avoid catastrophe, the Biden administration told the seven western states that depend on the river — California, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah — to come up with a collective plan by Jan. 31 to reduce the amount of water. they moved from the Colorado. But the states blew past that deadline.
The federal government responded by threatening unilateral cuts, but the deal announced this week should prevent that.
“The charity account is that water negotiations are complicated and states needed time to come to an agreement they could live with,” said my colleague Christopher Flavelle, who reported on the deal. “It’s also possible that states were unable or unwilling to commit to significant reductions in water use until they feared the federal government would otherwise impose cuts on them — a point that was fast approaching.”
Under the new agreement, most of the reductions would be made by water districts, farms, cities and Indian tribes in California, Nevada and Arizona, which would draw less water from the river in exchange for $1.2 billion in federal subsidies. The three states, which receive their share of river water from Lake Mead, the reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam, also agreed to make additional cuts not tied to payments.
Overall, the reductions called for in the deal between now and 2026 would save about three million acre-feet of water — enough to supply six million to nine million homes with water for a year. The deal is subject to approval by the federal government, and it remains unclear how the cuts will be distributed among the states.
California has typically received the largest allocation of river water, and we don’t yet know how the pain will be spread across residential and agricultural areas in the state. Southern California is heavily dependent on the Colorado River, which provides irrigation water for Imperial County and drinking water for Los Angeles, San Diego and other cities.
California is in a relatively good position to absorb cuts this year, as our extremely wet winter left an unusually large amount of snow in the mountains. But deciding what to do after the plan expires in 2026 will be much more difficult, because the chances of such a wet winter returning are so slim, Christopher told me.
Negotiations on what should happen after 2026 will start next month.
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Where we travel
Today’s tip comes from Margie Shamonsky, who recommends Death Valley National Park:
“Fascinating geology, fantastic camping opportunities, unique and interesting history, huge variety of altitude and ecological zones, excellent rock and fossil hunting, long silent drives through vast open spaces, magical lighting and amazing stars at night.”
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We will share more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.
And before you go, good news
Patrick Coyne, a photographer from Torrance, spent years searching for bioluminescent waves in Southern California, That reports the East Bay Times.
Early Friday morning on Manhattan Beach Pier, Coyne captured the glowing, electric blue waves for the first time since 2020. water.
Thank you for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Soumja
PS Here it is today’s mini crossword.
Johnna Margalotti and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.
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