Colorado River plan centers the environment, but is it realistic?
Last month, the seven U.S. states that use Colorado River water released two divergent plans for how that water should be managed after 2026 when the current agreement expires. Their proposals centered on operations at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the country’s two largest reservoirs, the levels of which are instrumental in determining how much water each state gets. But a coalition of environmental organizations felt that those plans — and the discourse surrounding which states should have to cut their water use — drowned out a crucial consideration: the environment. So, last week, they submitted a plan of their own. “Our plan explicitly integrates environmental values and resources into the planning, while also trying to meet the needs of people,” Taylor Hawes, the Colorado River Program director for The Nature Conservancy, said.
Related articles: