EXPLANATION: Winners, Losers in Water Shutoffs for Western States

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the scarcity of water in the Colorado River, residents of Arizona and Nevada will not be prohibited from watering their lawns or washing their cars.

But officials said Tuesday that there will be even less water available next year from the river that supplies 40 million people in the West and Mexico. Observers say a reckoning for the growing region is yet to come.

The new cuts will build on this year’s reductions, which nearly eliminated Colorado River water supplies from some central Arizona farmers and, to a much lesser extent, reduced the share of Nevada and Mexico.

Tuesday’s decision and what was left out point to growing uncertainty in the West.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the Colorado River’s two largest reservoirs, are nearly a quarter full, threatening the water supply and hydroelectric power generation used by millions of people.

Along the rim of the reservoirs, “bathtub rings” of minerals outline where the high water line once stood, highlighting the challenges facing the West as a ‘megadrought’ tightens its grip on the region.

A look at who is affected by another round of water cuts in the West.

WHICH STATES WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE CUTS?

Arizona was the hardest hit, again, and will receive 79% of its total share next year. But that’s just 3% less than it got this year, after federal officials cut its supply.

Nevada will receive about 92% of its total supply next year. Most residents won’t feel the cuts thanks to water conservation, reuse, and the fact that the state is not using all of its Colorado River allocation.

California has been spared the cuts because it has more water rights than Arizona and Nevada.

Mexico will get approximately 93% of its total supply. The water is used in cities and farming communities in northwestern Mexico, where a severe drought is also taking place.

WHO WILL SEE THEIR WATER SUPPLY CUT OFF?

Farmers in central Arizona, among the state’s largest producers of cattle, dairy, alfalfa, wheat and barley, lost most of their Colorado River allocation last year when the government announced its first shortage. Some farmers were compensated with water through deals with cities like Phoenix and Tucson.

More farmers are likely to need to fallow the land, for which some of the region’s farmers have been paid, and will rely even more on groundwater. Others will have to grow more water-efficient crops and find other ways to use less water.

Western water providers have planned for such a shortage by diversifying and conserving their water supply. Still, regular outages amid an intensifying drought that is depleting reservoirs faster than scientists predicted will make planning for the future more difficult.

Phoenix, the nation’s fifth-largest city, will lose some of the water it would otherwise store in groundwater basins as a water savings account, said Cynthia Campbell, a water resources management adviser for the city. That also happened this year. The city will rely more on the state’s Salt and Verde Rivers, which augment supplies from the Colorado River.

City residents will not be affected by the cuts next year, Campbell said.

Meanwhile, Nevada recycles most of the water used indoors and does not use all of the water from the Colorado River. That means next year’s cuts will hardly be felt by residents.

WHO DOES LAKE MEAD SERVE?

Lake Mead supplies water to millions of people in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Mexico.

Cuts for 2023 kick in when forecast water levels fall below a certain threshold: 1,050 feet (320 meters) above sea level.

Additional cuts will be activated when the projected levels sink to 1,045 and 1,025 feet (319 and 312 meters). At a certain point, water levels can drop so low that water can no longer be pumped from the reservoir.

Eventually, some city and industrial water users will be affected.

Lake Powell levels are also falling and extraordinary measures have been taken to keep the water in the reservoir on the Arizona-Utah border.

After the lake fell low enough to threaten the roughly 5 billion kilowatt hours of power generated each year at the Glen Canyon Dam, federal officials said they would hold back some of the water to make sure it could still produce power. . The dam produces enough electricity to power between 1 million and 1.5 million homes each year.

Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming get their water from tributaries and other reservoirs that flow into Lake Powell. Water from three reservoirs in those states has been drained in recent years to maintain water levels in Lake Powell and protect the power grid fed by Glen Canyon Dam.

HOW IS THE RIVER WATER SHARED?

The water stored in Lake Mead and Lake Powell is divided by legal agreement among the seven states of the Colorado River Basin, the federal government, Mexico, and Native American tribes. The agreements determine how much water each entity receives, when the cutoffs are activated and the order in which the parties must sacrifice part of their supply.

Under a 2019 drought contingency plan, Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico agreed to give up parts of their water to maintain water levels in Lake Mead. This year’s cuts are part of that plan and, as a result, were predicted by states and others.

WHAT WAS LEFT IN TUESDAY’S AD?

Much more significant water cuts. In June, the US Bureau of Reclamation told the basin states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) to come up with a plan to use at least 15% less water of the river next year, to prevent reservoir levels from falling further.

The deadline for reaching that agreement has passed and the states failed to reach an agreement. Federal officials did not say Tuesday how long states will have to get to one.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all AP environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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