LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Biden administration claimed a victory on Friday, saying it had “successfully staved off a crisis in the Colorado River Basin in the short term and set it up for success in the years ahead.”
Two and a half years after Las Vegas was fixated on Lake Mead’s “bathtub ring” at the nation’s largest reservoir dropped to 25% full, federal leadership on managing the river changes on Monday as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The seven states that rely on the Colorado River for precious water — Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — have avoided court battles, but there’s work to do with the lake at 34% full and uncertainty about whether snowpack levels will deliver normal runoff this year.
A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 54-page report released on Friday (below) lists four alternatives for decisions on releasing water from Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
The alternatives reflect elements from proposals submitted by Colorado River Basin states, tribes, cooperating agencies and non-governmental organizations. “Today’s release puts Reclamation on a path to publish a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in summer 2025, so that post-2026 operations can be finalized on time,” the news release said.
Current policies that guide management of the river expire at the beginning of 2027.
A leading voice in the Nevada conservation community called today’s news release a “parting shot” as Democrats leave office. Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, reminded the public of a watershed with shrinking supply.
“While there are no guarantees, the Trump administration could change some of the Biden administration’s work on the Post-2026 Operations’ environmental review. Nevertheless, the dry patterns this winter remind us who is really in control on the Colorado River system: Mother Nature,” Roerink said.
“The only way forward is figuring out an equitable way to use less in a watershed with a shrinking supply. One thing is certain: The seven states haven’t yet figured that out. If they had, we would have a Draft Environmental Impact Statement out in public rather than an outgoing administration’s list of alternatives that are missing important context required for review under federal law,” Roerink said.
8 News Now also reached out to the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) for reaction on Friday, but we did not receive a reply.
SNWA has been an important voice in crafting agreements between Nevada, Arizona and California. Southern Nevada gets 90% of its water from the river, with the remaining 10% coming from groundwater.
Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton, a UNLV graduate, called work up to now a firm foundation for the future.
The river provides water for 40 million people, and the Biden administration used billions of dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund agreements with California farming districts, water agencies and tribes to use less water and store more in Lake Mead. Billions more went to conservation, environmental and water infrastructure projects.
“Over the last three years, the Biden-Harris administration has led a comprehensive effort to make Western communities more resilient to climate change and address the ongoing megadrought across the region by harnessing the full resources of President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda. Together, the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provide the largest investment in climate resilience in our nation’s history, including $15.4 billion for western water across federal agencies to enhance the West’s resilience to drought and deliver unprecedented resources to protect the Colorado River System for all whose lives and livelihoods depend on it. This includes $7.15 billion for over 684 projects in the Colorado River Basin states alone,” Reclamation’s news release said.
Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis said, “With historic investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, our Administration has successfully staved off a crisis in the Colorado River Basin in the short term and set it up for success in the years ahead.
“The alternatives released today provide a robust and fair framework for the future that recognizes the shared responsibility of all river users in addressing ongoing drought conditions,” Daniel-Davis said.
Reclamation also noted collaboration with Mexico, which also holds some rights to water from the river.
