Finance

Interior Department delivers $30 million for drought resilience in Upper Colorado River basin

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Interior Department delivers $30 million for drought resilience in Upper Colorado River basin

The Department of the Interior announced a $29.7 million investment from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to help states in the Upper Colorado River Basin with drought planning.

This is the second year of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with a $38.4 million distributed so far, Reclamation said.

The Colorado River Basin provides water for more than 40 million people, fuels hydropower resources in seven states, supports 5.5 million acres of agriculture and agricultural communities, and is a crucial resource for 30 Tribal Nations and two states in Mexico. Despite improved hydrology in recent months, the historic 23-year drought has led to record low water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

Lake Powell, which is formed by Glen Canyon Dam, is considered an indicator of hydrologic conditions in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Hoover Dam forms Lake Mead.

“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to making communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change — including across the Colorado River Basin and the diverse communities that rely on it,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis. “Building on our significant milestones this year to protect the Colorado River System, we are continuing to make smart investments through the President’s Investing in America agenda to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System and increase water efficiency across the West.”

This latest round of funding will help re-activate and install up to 60 stream gages that are in critical reaches of the basin. It will also expand eddy-covariance tower/weather station networks for improved accuracy and confidence in managing water resources. In addition, this funding will be used for new monitoring technology to track water diversion, soil moisture and snowpack in the Upper Basin. This will improve forecasting and help study water balance and flow under different conditions.

“The Bureau of Reclamation is committed to ensuring the continued availability of water across the West, while at the same time enhancing the resiliency of our communities to a changing climate. There are approximately 1.5 million acres of irrigated agricultural land in the Upper Basin, and we are currently monitoring for evapotranspiration on less than 1 percent of that land,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “This funding will provide critical data to help us more accurately measure water use from irrigated agriculture in the Upper Basin, enhancing drought planning now and into the future.”

Evaluating the impacts related to ongoing drought mitigation efforts and providing science-based approaches will help protect critical infrastructure and minimize the adverse effects of drought on resources and infrastructure in the Upper Basin. Reclamation and the Upper Division States, working through the Upper Colorado River Commission, will use the Drought Contingency Plan-specific Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to improve key infrastructure, as well as data-gathering and analysis needs in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

This investment follows agreements made under the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act and related agreements to protect the system. A total of $50 million over four years will be given to each of the Upper Basin states for Drought Contingency Plan-related activities.