Consultation to Develop UCRC Pilot Programs

archived

The States of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico (Upper Division States), through UCRC, have been working in parallel with Arizona, California and Nevada (Lower Division States) and public entities within the Colorado River Basin, and in conjunction with the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), to develop and implement drought contingency options, as appropriate, to avoid or reduce the likelihood of reaching critical reservoir elevations at either Lake Powell or Lake Mead. On July 16, 2013, Don Ostler, Executive Director of UCRC, testified before a Senate Subcommittee, “The Colorado River Basin remains in a very severe 14 year drought, the continuation of which could drive Lake Powell to levels that threaten the ability to generate electrical power and Lake Mead to levels that require implementation of shortages within a few years.” Reclamation intends to award funds to UCRC that Congress appropriated in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriates Act of 2015 in the form of: (1) grants by the Secretary to public entities that use water from the Colorado River Basin for municipal purposes for projects that are implemented by 1 or more non-Federal entities; or (2) grants or other appropriate financial agreements to provide additional funds for renewing or implementing water conservation agreements that are in existence on the date of enactment of this Act.

High