The Bureau of Reclamation has announced a $284.8 million investment through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for long-term conservation projects in collaboration with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the Coachella Valley Water District. The projects, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, will conserve a combined 492,531 acre-feet of Colorado River water to shore up Lake Mead.
“These investments through the Lower Colorado Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program, are yielding hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water savings,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “Thanks to historic resources provided through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are advancing essential water infrastructure projects that mitigate the worst impacts of climate change and safeguard communities in the Colorado River Basin.”
The Biden-Harris administration has led an all-of-government effort to make Western communities more resilient to climate change and address the ongoing megadrought across the region by harnessing the full resources of President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda. Additionally, the Administration continues to support life-saving wildfire response efforts in California. The Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program is a part of the commitment made by the Department of the Interior to address the drought crisis with prompt and responsive actions and investments to ensure the entire Colorado River Basin can function and support all who rely on it.
Reclamation is using the best available science and actively collaborating with water users across the Colorado River Basin to determine best ways to meet the Basin’s increasing conservation needs.
Southern Nevada Water Authority Project: The project with the Southern Nevada Water Authority will invest $60 million to convert more than 23 million square-feet of water-intensive lawn to efficient landscaping through SNWA’s landscape rebate program. It is estimated to result in 189,635 acre-feet of water conservation in Lake Mead.
Metropolitan Water District Projects: A project with the Metropolitan Water District will expand their existing Regional Turf Replacement Program and convert approximately 30 million square-feet of non-functional turf to water-efficient landscaping resulting in 97,296 acre-feet of water conservation. An additional project with Metropolitan in partnership with Antelope Valley- East Kern Water Agency will store Metropolitan’s surplus State Water Project supplies near the West and East Branch split of the California Aqueduct, recover the stored supplies during dry years, and deliver them to Metropolitan’s service area via a direct pump-back into the California Aqueduct. The project is estimated to result in 168,000 acre-feet of system conservation.
Reclamation and Metropolitan Water District are working on a third project in support of disadvantaged communities. The agreement for this project is expected to be final next week and will invest $8 million for leak detection and repairs. This third agreement is expected to result in 4,000 acre-feet of water conservation in Lake Mead and reduce household costs for local communities.
Coachella Valley Water District Project: The project with Coachella Valley Water District is a 1 million gallon per day tertiary facility that will deliver a blend of recycled water and canal water to large agricultural customers and will result in 33,600 acre-feet of water conservation in Lake Mead and ensure a more stable and resilient water supply for agriculture.
