The drought years leading up to 2023 in the western U.S. saw unprecedented drops in storage in places like Lake Mead and Lake Powell when these reservoirs reached record lows. As a result, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told states they may need to cut their Colorado River water consumption by 15 to 30 percent. Even with the record winter precipitation, western states must continue to conserve or their increasing populations combined with climate change will cause additional stress to the fragile system. The federal government also agreed to pay water users roughly $1.2 billion in exchange for these states making such cuts. Arizona announced recently that it will put some of this funding toward the Gila River Indian Community’s Reclaimed Water Pipeline Project to increase water reuse by connecting reclaimed water to the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project facilities.

Source: Washington Post June 21, 2023 15:28 UTC