New plan slows Lake Mead decline by paying farms not to plant crops

Officials successful Lower Colorado River Basin states privation to dilatory the diminution of Lake Mead’s h2o levels implicit the adjacent fewer years by paying Southern California farmers not to works crops.

It’s not a program that Bill Hasencamp, manager of Colorado River resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, considers a “drought buster,” but it volition trim water level diminution by up to 3 feet implicit the adjacent 3 years, helium said.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Central Arizona Water Conservation District person each approved an statement for the plan. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has not yet signed the agreement, but Hasencamp said further h2o is already being saved successful the Palo Verde Irrigation District successful Southern California.

The programme comes arsenic the Lower Colorado River Basin braces for the archetypal federally declared h2o shortage successful Lake Mead, a determination that should travel Monday erstwhile the Bureau of Reclamation releases h2o level projections.

Under existing stream agreements, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico volition instrumentality cuts to their allocations of h2o adjacent year.

A shortage declaration for 2022 is expected. What officials don’t cognize astatine this constituent is what volition hap the pursuing year, Hasencamp said.

“And this 3 feet volition help, perhaps, trim the symptom from a much terrible chopped successful 2023,” helium said.

Building connected existing program

The caller statement betwixt the national authorities and h2o agencies successful California, Nevada and Arizona builds connected a 2004 statement betwixt the Metropolitan Water District and Palo Verde Irrigation District.

The archetypal statement allows the h2o territory to wage farmers successful the Palo Verde Irrigation District to temporarily not works crops connected portions of land. Water saved by not irrigating that farmland is past made disposable for municipality usage successful Southern California.

Because the Metropolitan Water District’s h2o reserves are truthful high, the existing programme is present operating astatine the minimum level outlined successful the agreement, Hasencamp said.

That presented an accidental to usage the remaining capableness of the programme to payment Lake Mead. Hasencamp said helium approached the different agencies participating successful the programme successful May.

The Metropolitan Water District volition proceed to get h2o from Palo Verde astatine the minimum level outlined successful the archetypal agreement, but the quality betwixt that and the full h2o savings nether the caller statement volition beryllium banked successful Lake Mead to dilatory the diminution of h2o levels.

The national authorities volition wage for fractional of the programme outgo nether the caller agreement, with the 3 h2o districts splitting the rest.

Officials estimation the programme could support up to 180,000 acre-feet — adjacent to 60 percent of Nevada’s yearly stream h2o allocation — successful the lake.

If for immoderate crushed the Metropolitan Water District needed much water, the bureau could instrumentality implicit the payments and support the h2o for its ain use.

“But that is an highly improbable event,” Hasencamp said. “We truly don’t foresee triggering that astatine all.”

Lower Basin cooperation

Part of the value of the statement is the Palo Verde Irrigation District’s willingness to lend immoderate of its h2o to Lake Mead, said Chuch Cullom, manager of Colorado River programs for the Central Arizona Project.

“They should beryllium commended for their foresight to measurement guardant astatine this time, successful this precise adust hydrologic runoff year, to beryllium consenting to forego immoderate of their farming to payment the Lower Colorado River system,” Cullom said.

Palo Verde volition not lend immoderate much h2o than the maximum magnitude that was outlined successful the archetypal 2004 agreement.

In a statement, Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager John Entsminger said the program is simply a bully illustration of what tin beryllium done successful concern with farmers to support Lake Mead.

“To successfully negociate these shortage conditions implicit the adjacent fewer years, each assemblage of the Colorado River assemblage wrong the Basin volition request to measurement up and instrumentality beardown enactment to conserve and sphere this resource,” helium said.

Contact Blake Apgar astatine bapgar@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar connected Twitter.