From the Department of the Interior:
The Biden-Harris administration today announced an agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) that will conserve approximately 100,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead in 2023. The agreement includes approximately $77.6 million in new investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which will fund projects for water conservation, water efficiency, and protection of critical environmental resources in the Colorado River System this year.
The investments, which are part of the Biden-Harris administration’s whole-of-government approach to improve and protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System now and into the future, are administered through the Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program and funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history.
In addition, Reclamation and IID continue to work on an agreement for years 2024 through 2026. Combined, the IID agreements over the next three years are expected to achieve up to 800,000 acre-feet of system water conservation to shore-up elevations in Lake Mead for the benefit of the Colorado River System and the over 40 million people who rely on it.
“Through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program is helping address, improve and protect the long-term stability of the Colorado River System,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Michael Brain. “The Biden-Harris administration is using every tool and resource at our disposal to continue our sustained, collaborative progress in increasing water conservation across the West.”
“We are grateful for the Imperial Irrigation District’s leadership and partnership as we worked to execute this agreement,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “Addressing the drought crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck moment and close collaboration among federal, state, Tribal and local communities. IID’s commitment to system conservation is vital as we work to strengthen the stability of the entire Colorado River Basin.”
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is integral to the efforts to increase near-term water conservation, build long term system efficiency, and prevent the Colorado River System’s reservoirs from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production.
The IID agreement announced today is in addition to the 18 recently announced agreements executed in Arizona that commit water entities to conserve up to 348,680-acre feet of water in Lake Mead in 2023, and up to 984,429-acre feet through 2026. The agreements are part of the 3 million acre-feet of system conservation commitments made by the Lower Basin states, 2.3 million acre-feet of which will be compensated through funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing another $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including water purification and reuse, water storage and conveyance, desalination, and dam safety.
As a result of the commitment to record volumes of conservation in the Basin, as well as recent hydrology, Interior Department announced in October that the chance of falling below critical elevations has been reduced to eight percent at Lake Powell and four percent at Lake Mead through 2026. Lake Mead is currently about 40 feet higher than it was projected to be at this time last year.
To date, the Interior Department has announced the following investments for Colorado River Basin states through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, which will yield hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water savings each year once these projects are complete:
- $281 million for 21 water recycling projects that are expected to increase annual water capacity by 127,000 acre-feet annually;
- Up to $233 million in water conservation funding for the Gila River Indian Community, including $83 million for a water pipeline project;
- Over $73 million for infrastructure repairs on water delivery systems; $19.3 million in fiscal year 2022and another $54 million announced in April 2023;
- $71 million for 32 drought resiliency projects to expand access to water through groundwater storage, rainwater harvesting, aquifer recharge and water treatment;
- $50 million over the next five years to improve key water infrastructure and enhance drought-related data collection across the Upper Colorado River Basin; and
- $20 million in new small surface and groundwater storage
From the Imperial Irrigation District:
As part of the historic Lower Basin Plan between Arizona, California, and Nevada to conserve 3 million acre-feet of water by 2026 to protect the Colorado River system from extended drought, the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors met today, unanimously approving the 2023 System Conservation Implementation Agreement (SCIA) with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. This landmark agreement signals IID’s commitment to the sustainability of the Colorado River, crucial to the Imperial Valley as its sole source of water.
The agreement also triggers the release of $70 million from an available $250 million in federal funding earmarked last year for environmental projects to support the Salton Sea.
Under the SCIA, IID pledges to conserve up to 100,000 acre-feet of water in 2023, raising Lake Mead’s elevation behind Hoover Dam by 1.5 feet. This responsive action is a component of the broader May 2023 Lower Basin Plan, which Reclamation identified as the proposed action for near-term operations of the river resulting from the June 2022 call to action by Reclamation for Colorado River water users to develop near-term plans to reduce consumptive use and safeguard critical reservoir elevations.
“This proactive step to support the river is vital for our community. I want to thank and congratulate all parties involved for their collaborative efforts, which have resulted in this agreement that benefits the Colorado River, Lake Mead, and the Salton Sea,” stated IID Board President Alex Cardenas.
The conserved water, generated entirely through IID’s On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program, exemplifies the outstanding efforts of Imperial Valley growers. About half of the conservation, 50,000 acre-feet, initially designated for transfer to the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) will now instead remain in Lake Mead as a result of an innovative three-party agreement between IID, SDCWA, and The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, benefiting the entire basin through collaborative partnerships and funded at current rates through the Inflation Reduction Act.
IID, holding some of the most senior and legally protected water rights on the Colorado River, annually conserves approximately 500,000 acre-feet of water under the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), the nation’s largest ag-to-urban water conservation and transfer pact.
JB Hamby, IID Director and Chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, emphasized the significance of IID’s commitment, stating, “IID’s action today demonstrates leadership on the Colorado River that will protect the Imperial Valley, California, and the Colorado River Basin as a whole from record drought in the near-term and clear the way for focused discussions on operating the Colorado River sustainably in the long-term.”
Coordination for conservation efforts beyond 2023 continues, with IID proposing a cumulative target of 800,000 acre-feet of additional conservation by 2026. The district has initiated an environmental compliance process for 2024-2026 conservation efforts and is working with agricultural stakeholders and Reclamation to finalize new conservation programs to generate this volume.
The IID’s commitment extends beyond water conservation, with a focus on supporting the Salton Sea as its leading advocate. Collaborative efforts, as outlined in the historic agreement between Reclamation, the California Natural Resources Agency, Coachella Valley Water District, and IID in December 2022, designated $250 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for state projects contributing to the Salton Sea’s restoration.
Wade Crowfoot, Secretary, California Natural Resources Agency:
“A year ago this month, the Colorado River system was facing near-term collapse. Today, the system is stabilized for coming years thanks to IID and other water agencies across California and the Southwest stepping up to conserve water. These were not easy decisions, and leadership from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and funding provided by the President and Congress has been pivotal to these emergency actions. Now, as these near-term conservation programs stabilize Lake Mead and the whole Colorado River system, water agencies across the region are working together to chart a sustainable future for the Basin. We can be proud of our collective progress in recent months while we recognize there is much important work ahead.”
Dan Denham, General Manager, San Diego County Water Authority:
“The San Diego County Water Authority is pleased to partner with the Imperial Irrigation District, Metropolitan Water District and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on a mutually beneficial exchange agreement that will help bolster the river for all users. It is this kind of flexibility and consensus planning that will pave the way for a more sustainable river, and it is another example of the leadership California water agencies have shown over the past 20 years since the signing of the QSA.”
Adán Ortega, Jr., Chair, Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors:
“This partnership between Metropolitan, Imperial Irrigation District, San Diego County Water Authority and the Bureau of Reclamation is one example of how solutions developed collaboratively can benefit everyone. Our individual efforts to reduce our reliance on the Colorado River can be magnified by our growing and mutual interdependence leading to creative and lasting solutions, where the people we all serve win, as does the environment.”
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About IID and Farming in Imperial Valley:
- IID has conserved over 7.7 million acre-feet of water since 2003, with 1.5 million generated through the On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program since 2013.
- Imperial Valley farmers and IID continue to ramp up water conservation efforts annually, utilizing advanced irrigation technologies and sustainable farming practices, including the installation and use of sprinklers, drip systems, field reconfiguration and precision land-leveling, tailwater return systems, and other field-level conservation measures.
- Imperial Valley remains one of California’s and the Colorado River Basin’s top agricultural producers, with one in every six jobs directly related to agriculture, the backbone of the local economy.
