The Bureau of Reclamation, part of the Department of the Interior, has announced three options to protect the Colorado River by limiting releases from the Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams.
Reservoirs like Lake Mead have continued to plummet from a years-long drought, with a lack of runoff, rain and snowmelt exacerbating the water level’s decline. The water drop affects both irrigation and the use of the dams for hydroelectric power.
These are the options being weighed by the Biden administration:
• Unilateral federal cutbacks to water releases from the dams for the 2023-2024 water year;
• Drafting a new consensus framework between Colorado River Basin states, NGOs, and tribes;
• Doing nothing.