After Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton’s Senate testimony in June, the Colorado River Basin states had until Monday, August 15 to reach an agreement to save two to four million acre-feet of water in 2023, or Reclamation would take action to preserve the system. As WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal explained in an interview with The Center Square, “The 2-4 million acre-foot water curtailment is an unprecedented ask, not only in size but in speed at which the states were asked to respond.” The deadline has passed with no agreement reached. In a press statement Tuesday, officials from Central Arizona Project (CAP) and Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) explained that “The Basin States have not yet produced a viable plan nor has the United States proposed a plan that achieves the protection volumes identified by the Commissioner. Achieving volumes at this magnitude will take significant contributions by all water users in the Colorado River Basin.”
Weekly Wave: Tier 2 Shortage Declared for 2023 – Basin States Fail to Reach Colorado River Usage Agreement
August 19, 2022
Weekly Wave
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10 vol.
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no. 19
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Water Resources Research Center
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Tucson, AZ