U.S. Bureau of Reclamation weighs Colorado River drought plans

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is a sub-agency of the Department of the Interior that oversees the water supply for tens of millions of people in the West. The agency recently released a list of options for how it might manage a potential drought-stricken Colorado River in the future.

The proposals vary from taking “no action” to a scenario that might result in water cuts to the lower basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada. In partnership with conservation groups, an alternative would incentivize states and water users to proactively conserve the river.

While the Department of the Interior has outlined the scenarios in detail, they have not identified a preferred option. The plans will only be implemented if all seven states that depend on the water fail to agree on their own conservation plan soon.

Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss more about the options.