After two years of conservation efforts, Lake Mead is on the come-up.
Voluntary measures by Californians to save water in the Colorado River system are on their way to keeping well over the promised 1.6 million acre-feet of water in the reservoir by 2026, SFGATE reported. In a news release, the Colorado River Board of California announced a coalition over the last 23 months had conserved 1.2 million acre-feet of water.
This year, 500,000 acre-feet were saved through Dec. 4. That figure was 700,000 in 2023. On Dec. 26, Lake Mead's water level was 18.5 feet above what it was two years prior.
Since 2002, California users have decreased their Colorado River water usage by 800,000 acre-feet, according to the river board. In Los Angeles, users have cut their usage by 44% over the last 30 years despite a population increase of more than 1 million people.
In the arid West, the Colorado River Basin is vital. Forty million people and seven U.S. states, 30 tribes, and two Mexican states rely on it for water, electricity, and agriculture.
The conservation effort includes the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Diego County Water Authority, and other water and irrigation districts; the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe; and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Farmers have been paid to not water their fields, homeowners are being encouraged to replace turfgrass, and canals are being lined to prevent water loss. The Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate action investment in American history, provided $4 billion to fund drought relief in the region, and the Colorado River Basin received some of that.
"In two years, Californians have plunged our uses to their lowest levels since the 1940s, all while supporting half the Basin's entire population and a plurality of the Basin's farm production," JB Hamby, Colorado River Board of California chairman and Colorado River commissioner for California, stated. "Every user, sector, state, and Basin must do their part to protect this river. No one has shown that more than California's cities, farms, and tribes."
Lake Mead is located on the border of Nevada and Arizona, and has been suffering from a sustained drought in recent years. Earlier this year, it recorded its highest level in three years.
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"As stewards of the Colorado River, the Quechan Tribe has a sacred responsibility to ourselves, our people, our neighbors, and future generations to ensure a sustainable and living Colorado River ecosystem," Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribal Council President Jordan Joaquin said. " … We are proud to participate with our partners in California and at the Bureau of Reclamation in contributing to these important efforts to sustain the river that gave us life."
Deven Upadhyay, interim general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, added: "The amount of water California has conserved over the past two years showcases the remarkable power of collective action and our commitment to acting quickly to protect Lake Mead. It is a testament of what we can achieve across the Colorado River Basin when we each take responsibility and work together for the greater good."
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