Las Vegas, NV – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), a founding member of the bipartisan Colorado River Caucus, released the following statement after the Bureau of Reclamation announced it would adopt the historic seven-state agreement for water usage within the Colorado River Basin through 2026: 

“With the Colorado River Basin’s rapidly changing water levels, all Basin states face a pressing need to work together to establish a path forward for water users in the region. Thanks to investments from the Inflation Reduction Act, several local governments, Tribal Nations, and Native communities have already committed to record water conservation measures. This promoted all Colorado River Basin states to reach a historic, fair-share agreement through 2026 which the Bureau of Reclamation announced today it will soon implement. Nevada has led the nation on water conservation, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Congressional Colorado River Caucus to ensure our state’s allocation of this precious resource is protected in the long-term.”


Background:

Today, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation released a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in the ongoing, collaborative effort to update the current interim operating guidelines for the near-term operation of Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams to address the drought and impacts from the climate crisis. The identified preferred alternative reflects a historic, consensus-based proposal among the seven Colorado River Basin states that will lead to at least 3 million acre-feet of system water conservation savings through the end of 2026, when the current guidelines expire.

In total, over 75% of the agreed conservation measures will be funded by incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act which overall provides $4.6 billion to address the historic drought across the West. This includes the announcement today of three new conservation agreements in California that will yield hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water savings in Lake Mead.

In addition to voting for the Inflation Reduction Act, Rep. Titus has championed efforts to protect Lake Mead and the surrounding small businesses that rely on visitor access to the park. 

In November 2022, the National Park Service (NPS) released several proposals to address access to Lake Mead amidst decreasing water levels, including plans that could have effectively shut down marina and concession operations. 

After engaging with the public and the NPS at multiple public meetings, Rep. Titus urged the approval of federal disaster supplemental aid and $17 million in funding through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) to provide continued recreational access to Lake Mead. Thanks to this funding, the NPS has been able to plan for recreational services and concessioner-operated marinas at Lake Mead should water levels decrease in the future.