California and other states are proposing a new plan to save water on the Colorado River

As the Colorado River’s major lakes drop to record lows, negotiators in California, Arizona and Nevada have announced a new water conservation plan for the next two years.

Representatives of the three states said in a written statement Friday night that their plan aims to “sustain the Colorado River through 2028.” It will require greater reductions in water use than previously promised in negotiations with other states and the federal government.

“We have stepped up to establish a leadership position to protect the system for another two years,” said JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California. “Otherwise, the system will continue to decline.”

Negotiators with the three states say their plan identifies a water cut of more than 3.2 million hectares by 2028, depending on their previous proposal.

Representatives of the three states negotiated the interim agreement after they reached an impasse in talks with four other states on a long-term plan to share the river’s dwindling waters.

Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir near Las Vegas, is now 31 percent full.

And further upstream on the Arizona-Utah border, Lake Powell is 24% full. In the coming year, the reservoir could shrink to the point where water can no longer pass through to generate hydroelectric power.

The Colorado River provides water for approx 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland, from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. The water was originally divided between the states in 1922 under an agreement called the Colorado River Compact.

River flows have decreased significantly since 2000, and studies have shown that global warming strengthening dry conditions.

This year, snowpack in the upper reaches of the Rocky Mountains is just 22% of average, the lowest on record. That will translate into very little flow reaching the depleted river dams this year.

In a a book to the officials of the Ministry of the Interior, the top negotiators of the states said that they came up with the three-state plan because “quick and decisive action is needed.”

“We hope these actions can provide more time to develop a long-term strategy that includes actions to achieve reductions in consumption by all seven regions,” they said.

The plan seeks to reduce California’s use of Colorado River water by about 13% in 2027 and 2028. Arizona and Nevada agreed to major reductions.

The managers of the various water agencies still need to negotiate the details of how the water cuts will be divided between cities and agricultural areas.

Improved conservation of farmers will be key, as three quarters of river water it is used for agriculture, producing crops such as hay for cattle and vegetables such as lettuce and broccoli.

In the last three years, the states have turned around voluntary dehydration and organization payments to farmers who agreed to leave the fields dry for part of the year.

State leaders have urged the Trump administration to provide funding for conservation efforts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, along with the governors of six other states, emphasized this in a joint letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday, saying “solutions will require significant federal funding to match our state’s investment.”

Negotiators from California, Arizona and Nevada emphasized that, saying the water conservation program “depends on the availability of federal and other funds.”

They said they plan to review the details of the water cut in August.

Over the past five years, Southern California cities have gotten about a quarter of their water from the Colorado River. In California’s Imperial Valley, farms are completely dependent on the Colorado River.

Shivaji Deshmukh, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said it was unfortunate that all seven states could not reach an agreement.

He said the three-state plan “aims to deal with the driest conditions in history in the near term.” At the same time, he said there is still hope that “an agreement may be reached next year among the seven regions on comprehensive conservation programs.”

“We have to know that the river is changing,” said Deshmukh, “and the only way we can make sure that communities, businesses and the entire ecosystem in the Southwest have the water they need for decades to come is through seven regions working together.”

The Metropolitan Water District, which delivers water to 19 million people, currently has a lot of water coming from Northern California and stored in reservoirs, so there are no immediate plans for additional water conservation measures in the region this summer.

The Las Vegas area has already saved so much water over the past two decades that it exceeded its most recent water conservation pledge, said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The area has significantly reduced water use by focusing on removing water-draining grass and adopting other water-saving practices.

“This is not the situation that hit Las Vegas,” Entsminger said. “We’ve spent 25 years reducing our water use and are the most efficient city in the United States.”

Entsminger said he entered the talks two and a half years ago hoping the seven states could agree on a long-term plan for the next 30 years. Since that hasn’t happened yet, he said, the interim agreement is “buying time.”

In their letter to the federal government, negotiators from California, Arizona and Nevada said those representing the upstream states – Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico – have so far refused to commit to mandatory reductions.

They said they hoped that the latest proposal could help the seven states finally agree on a long-term solution.

“Everyone should be efficient and use less water,” said Entsminger.

By committing to a lot of savings, these three states offer an “olive branch” to other states, he said, to show how the state can reach an agreement to stay within the boundaries of the river.