Imperial Irrigation District General Manager Henry Martinez issued the following statement commenting on the announcement made earlier today by the Colorado River Board of California regarding the submittal of a Lower Basin Plan to Reclamation for analysis by representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin States. The Lower Basin Plan proposes to conserve 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River water through 2026, with at least 1.5 million acre-feet of that total being conserved by the end of calendar year 2024.

“IID is pleased that the Lower Basin States have come to consensus with the development of a plan that is based on voluntary, achievable conservation volumes that will help protect critical Colorado River reservoir elevations, and in particular Lake Mead, which IID is reliant upon for 100% of the Imperial Valley’s water supplies,” said Henry Martinez, IID General Manager.

This proposed near-term action alternative is expected to outperform the alternatives proposed in the existing Draft Supplement Environmental Impact Statement. Martinez continued, “We look forward to Reclamation fully analyzing the Lower Basin Plan as the preferred alternative for near-term implementation, so that Basin wide discussions can pivot to post-2026 operational guidelines to address longer-term Colorado River system operations and the anticipated continued decline of the hydrology within the basin.”

The Lower Basin Plan is consistent with California’s voluntary conservation proposal offered through the Colorado River Board of California in October 2022, and proposes 1.6 million acre-feet of conservation from California over the next four years. For its part, IID continues to anticipate increasing its temporary, voluntary, and compensated conservation volumes by 250,000 acre-feet per year for the Lower Basin proposal, contingent upon development of a federal funding agreement through Reclamation’s Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program. This conservation proposal was facilitated by the recent $250 million federal Salton Sea funding commitment from Reclamation using funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

“IID wishes to commend all parties involved in the development of the Lower Basin proposal, and offer its appreciation to Reclamation for its early commitment in support of the Salton Sea to help make these conservation commitments possible by ensuring the accelerated implementation of dust control and habitat projects to protect our community’s health and local environment,” said Martinez.

JB Hamby, Chairman of the Colorado River Board of California and IID Board Vice President, stated in a May 22, 2023 news release that, “California and our partners in Arizona and Nevada have developed a plan that results in better protection for the Colorado River system than other action alternatives identified in the current Draft SEIS released last month by Reclamation. The Lower Basin Plan will generate unprecedented volumes of conservation that will build elevation in Lake Mead, make strategic use of the improved hydrology, and build upon partnerships within and among states, urban water agencies, agricultural irrigation districts, and Basin Tribes who rely upon and share the Colorado River.”  

In addition to IID, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Palo Verde Irrigation District, the Coachella Valley Water District, the Fort Yuma Quechan tribe, and the Bard Water District are anticipated to assist in meeting California’s conservation volumes and utilize IRA funding. Arizona and Nevada water users have committed to conserve the balance of the 3 million acre-feet of voluntary conservation, in addition to their existing shortage reduction volumes and contributions under the 2007 Interim Guidelines and 2019 Drought Contingency Plan.

The Lower Basin Plan is endorsed by the governors of California, Arizona and Nevada.

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Links:

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Historic Consensus System Conservation Proposal to Protect the Colorado River Basin (contains links to state letters): https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-historic-consensus-system-conservation-proposal