LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A California water agency is getting paid $325 per acre foot for water they commit to save in Lake Mead, up to a total of $65 million.
That’s according to a news release from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on new agreements approved this week. The agreements will save an additional 200,000 acre feet of water in Lake Mead, enough to raise the lake about 2½ to 3 feet.
Officials said late Friday that the new agreements were funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation using funding that remained from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Basin states set to sign new 2-year Colorado River agreement, SNWA says
The new agreements go beyond those originally announced and reported by 8 News Now in 2023 and 2024, when a set of 24 agreements that carried a price tag of $670.2 million were announced. The government expected to preserve 1.58 million acre-feet through the end of this year.
Even with these commitments, Lake Mead is likely to drop in the coming weeks to levels unseen since the reservoir was filled in the 1930s.
An acre foot is equal to 325,851 gallons — enough water to supply two to three households for a year.
In this Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015 photo, mechanic John Harper walks onto the pipes conveying water pumped from the Colorado River at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Whitsett Intake Pumping Plant near Parker Dam, Calif. The pumping plant is the starting point of the Colorado River Aqueduct. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
“We’re grateful to be in the position this year to help reduce the impacts of drought on the Colorado River system as it faces unprecedented challenges,” Metropolitan Water District General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh said.
“But while these agreements provide important near-term support, lasting progress will require long-term solutions. If we all commit to reducing our use, we can avoid deeper cuts and create lasting change that will benefit future generations who rely on the Colorado River Basin,” Deshmukh said.
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When agreements were struck during the Biden administration, $4.6 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was expected to be allocated. The Bureau of Reclamation was expected to invest another $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects separate from the agreements to save Colorado River water.
The water saved in those agreements would be stored in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two biggest reservoirs in the lower 48 states, with a goal of keeping water levels higher.
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