In the Colorado River Basin, stakeholders, States, and Federal and local agencies are collaborating to develop creative strategies to reduce the impacts of drought and increase reservoir storage at Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Activities related to drought response include a system conservation program and drought contingency planning efforts in both the Upper and Lower Basins. Additional ongoing activities are being conducted with stakeholders through the Basin Study Moving Forward process and with Native American Tribes through the Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study. Lastly, the implementation of Minute 319 and related binational discussions also underscore the importance of the partnership and continued collaboration between the United States and Mexico.

Pilot System Conservation Program

In 2014, an $11 million funding agreement for a Pilot System Conservation Program (PSCP) was executed among the Bureau of Reclamation, Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), Denver Water (DW), and the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) (the Funding Partners). The PSCP establishes a mechanism for funding the creation of Colorado River system water through voluntary water conservation actions and reductions in water use beginning in 2015 and continuing through at least 2016. The purpose of the PSCP is to explore the effectiveness of voluntary measures that could be used, when needed, to help maintain water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead above critical levels. All water conserved as a result of the pilot program would be considered Colorado River system water. Proposals under the PSCP have been received from potential program participants in both the Upper and Lower Basins, where execution of implementation agreements began in 2015 and is ongoing.

Drought Contingency Planning

The Bureau of Reclamation also works with Arizona, California, and Nevada to identify proactive steps to lower the risk of reaching critical elevations at Lake Mead. A step forward was a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a Pilot Drought Response Actions signed by the Bureau of Reclamation and several water agencies in the Lower Basin States in December 2014. The MOU outlines a commitment by the parties to use best efforts to generate between 1.5 and 3.0 million acre-feet (maf) of additional water in Lake Mead through 2019. The Bureau of Reclamation, MWD, SNWA, and CAWCD have agreed to take first steps to generate 0.740 maf of the additional water by the end of 2017. The MOU is an important first step forward and collaboration continues on potential longer term options.

In the Upper Basin, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming are pursuing a plan with three major components: 1) extended operations of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) reservoirs, 2) voluntary demand management (e.g., fallowing or deficit irrigation), and 3) augmentation (primarily weather modification, such as cloud seeding). The Bureau of Reclamation, in collaboration with the Upper Basin States, has conducted modeling that indicates extended operations of the Upper Basin CRSP reservoirs to move water to Lake Powell can significantly reduce the probability of Lake Powell falling below critical elevations. The Bureau of Reclamation and the Upper Basin States are developing an extended operations plan and implementation agreement. It is anticipated that these will be completed by the end of 2016.

In addition to the previously mentioned activities, Congress has authorized additional funding through the Bureau of Reclamation for drought-related activities to increase Colorado River system water in Lake Mead, Lake Powell, and other Colorado River system reservoirs for the benefit of the system. This authorization requires that a report evaluating the effectiveness of the water conservation pilot projects be submitted to Congress in 2018, including a recommendation on whether the activities undertaken by the pilot projects should be continued.

The Moving Forward Effort

In May 2013, the Bureau of Reclamation and Basin stakeholders initiated the Moving Forward effort to build on future considerations and next steps identified in the Colorado River Basin Study. The Moving Forward effort enhances the broad, inclusive stakeholder process demonstrated in the Basin Study with an ultimate goal of identifying actionable steps to address projected water supply and demand imbalances that have broad-based support and provide a wide range of benefits. The Moving Forward effort is being conducted in a phased approach. Phase 1 began with the formation of a Coordination Team and three multi-stakeholder workgroups that focus on water conservation, reuse and environmental and recreational flows. In May, 2015 the Phase 1 Report was published, which documents the activities and outcomes of the workgroups during this phase and includes opportunities for potential future action.

Tribal Water Study

Begun in late 2013, the Colorado River Basin Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study is a cooperative effort with the Ten Tribes Partnership, whose members hold a significant amount of quantified and unquantified Federal reserved water rights to the Colorado River and its tributaries. The study builds on the technical foundation of the Colorado River Basin Study by further assessing water supplies and demands for these Tribes and identifies tribal opportunities and challenges associated with the development of tribal water. This study is anticipated to be completed in 2016.

Binational Partnership

In November 2012, the United States and Mexico reached agreement on Minute 319 to the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty. Minute 319 is a 5-year agreement (2013-2017) that provides for a series of joint cooperative actions between the United States and Mexico, including surplus sharing during higher Lake Mead conditions, reduced water deliveries during lower Lake Mead conditions, flexibility with the Intentionally Created Mexican Apportionment mechanism, opportunities for improved and more efficient infrastructure, and water for the environment. In 2014, a pulse flow of approximately 105,000 acre-feet was delivered to Mexico from March 23 through May 18 to benefit the riparian ecosystem in the Colorado River Delta. Implementation of the pulse flow also involved a monitoring component conducted by scientists and experts from the United States and Mexico to determine the environmental benefits of the pulse flow and the overall performance of the pilot project. With the success of the binational implementation of this project, the United States and Mexico hope to develop a new binational agreement in the spirit of continued collaboration to meet future water resources management challenges ahead.