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In a report released Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Interior catalogued public comments collected for the first stage of its multiyear process to come up with a long-term plan to conserve Colorado River water.
The nearly 400-page report demonstrates that the Biden administration is making progress toward establishing a post-2026 plan for conserving water in the West. According to the report, the new operating plan is expected to guide the next 20 years of water allocations in the Colorado River basin, which serves 40 million people across the West.
Comments included concerns over climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, diminished air quality as a result of drying lake beds, and protecting cultural and Tribal resources, including honoring Tribal water rights. Commenters also applauded President Biden's designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, and encouraged future land protections along the Colorado River.
Though the report seeks to create a reliable long-term plan, it also leaves room for adjustments to be made along the way—the Interior department will continue to identify scenarios in which Secretary Deb Haaland or her successors might adjust the amount of water available for consumption from Lake Mead, which provides Colorado River water for the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada.
The Interior department is expected to produce a draft environmental impact statement by late 2024.
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Even with this bad thing that happened, there’s a word in Arapaho, that says, ‘nih’oniitowoo.’ And it’s to be strong and keep going, or to persevere. And to me, I think that word kind of expressed the feeling of all the tribes.”
