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2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN <br /> MAY 2026/FINAL DRAFT/CAROLLO <br /> Colorado River allocation negotiations are focused on creating a post-2026 operating plan,with states <br /> and the federal government aiming for consensus on how to manage the river's declining water supply <br /> due to the severe, prolonged drought in the Colorado River Basin.The drought on the Colorado River <br /> began around 2000 and has continued, in various degrees of severity, for over two decades, making it a <br /> historic megadrought that has significantly reduced water flow into the river and lowered water levels in <br /> reservoirs like Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Although some periods, like the wet winter of 2023, brought <br /> temporary relief with increased snowfall, they were not enough to fully replenish the system or overcome <br /> the prolonged lack of water and effects of climate change, such as aridification and increased evaporation <br /> according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS, 2024). Under the 2007 Interim Guidelines, <br /> together with the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (2019), the Intentionally Created Surplus (ICS) <br /> program has allowed MET to store conserved water in Lake Mead for subsequent recovery;these <br /> frameworks sunset with the Guidelines at the end of 2026 and are expected to be addressed in the <br /> post-2026 rules (MET, 2025). <br /> The USBR,which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, is the federal agency leading the <br /> negotiations and responsible for managing the river system.The ongoing Colorado River negotiations <br /> aim to find a fair and sustainable way to allocate the available water, which is significantly less than in the <br /> past.Talks are centering on a "natural flow" proposal that divides water based on current river conditions, <br /> rather than historical allocations. However, states remain at odds over how much water to allocate to the <br /> Upper and Lower Basins,with the federal government planning to impose its own plan if an agreement is <br /> not reached by the November 2026 deadline. Some key challenges that remain to be resolved are the <br /> different interests of the Upper Basin states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico) and the Lower Basin <br /> states (California, Arizona, Nevada) to reach consensus on how much water the Upper Basin should send <br /> downstream. In addition,Tribal nations are also seeking recognition of their rights and a role in the future <br /> management of the river. Given MET's junior priority status within California's Colorado River priority <br /> system, reductions to MET's supplies are a possibility under future operating criteria; MET's planning <br /> reflects this risk (MET, 2025). <br /> Consistent with MET's 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP), supply capability planning uses <br /> USBR's August 2023 Colorado River Simulation System assumptions, including a climate-adjusted flow <br /> reduction factor of approximately 9.3 percent per 1 degree Celsius of warming over the planning horizon <br /> (2025-2050). MET continues to utilize supply, storage, transfer, and conservation programs, including ICS <br /> participation under the current guidelines, to manage risk and buffer shortages. In addition, conserved <br /> QSA-related transfer water delivered at Lake Havasu (including Imperial Irrigation District and canal-lining <br /> exchanges) is categorized in MET's 2025 UWMP as Colorado River imported supply (previously treated as <br /> local supply), aligning accounting with current practice (MET, 2025). <br /> 6.2.2.3 MET Colorado River Current Programs <br /> Over the years, MET has helped fund and implement various programs to improve Colorado River supply <br /> reliability and help resolve the imbalance between supply and demand. Implementation of such programs <br /> has contributed to achievements such as a record-low diversion of the Colorado River in 2019, a level not <br /> seen since the 1950s. Colorado River water management programs include: <br /> ■ Lower Colorado Water Supply Projects:Authorized in the 1980s, this project provides up to <br /> 10,000 AFY of water to certain entities that do not have or have insufficient rights to use Colorado <br /> River water.A contract executed in 2007 allowed MET to receive project water left unused by the <br /> CITY OF SANTA ANA <br />