LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Lake Mead is projected to reach its lowest point since it was initially filled. In response, a California water agency is partnering with the federal government to keep more Colorado River water in the reservoir this year, part of an effort to protect hydropower generation at Hoover Dam.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s board of directors approved the agreement this week, which will allow the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to compensate Metropolitan for leaving up to 200,000 acre-feet of its Colorado River supplies in Lake Mead this year. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, enough water to serve roughly three households.
Metropolitan Board Chair Adán Ortega Jr. said the move is possible because of decades of investments in alternative supplies, storage and conservation.
“Over the last 30 years, we’ve transformed how Southern California secures its water future. By investing in diverse water supplies, incentivizing conservation, and capturing and storing water whenever it’s available, we’ve added resilience to our system,” Ortega said, adding that Metropolitan and its ratepayers have invested $1.7 billion in conservation, water recycling and groundwater recovery since 1990, producing more than 8.8 million acre-feet of water. “Those decades of forward-thinking investments allow us to step forward and help stabilize the Colorado River when it needs us most.”
“That’s why flexibility in how we operate is so important – so we can take advantage of opportunities like this one to help when the water is available,” he added.
Reclamation will pay Metropolitan $325 per acre-foot, up to $65 million, to keep the supplies in Lake Mead this year. The funding comes from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program.
Metropolitan said water from the Colorado River and Northern California provides about half of the water supply for 19 million people in Southern California.
The board also approved two additional agreements tied to Metropolitan’s partnerships with the Quechan Tribe and Bard Water District. Those agreements would allow Reclamation to fund the addition of up to 19,000 acre-feet of conserved agricultural water to Lake Mead annually in 2027 and 2028. Metropolitan worked with agricultural partners and Reclamation on similar agreements in 2023 to preserve water in Lake Mead.
After a record-low snowpack in the Colorado River Basin this year, Lake Mead’s water level has dropped to a near-historic low. Metropolitan warned that if the reservoir drops too low, hydropower generation capacity at Hoover Dam could be reduced by 70%, cutting a critical electricity supply for the Southwest.
Metropolitan General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh said the agreements are temporary and that longer-term commitments are needed among the seven Colorado River Basin states as they negotiate how to operate the river after current guidelines expire at the end of the year.
“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,” 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.”