Communities Call for Federal Support Amid Colorado River Basin Crisis
As the Colorado River Basin faces one of its toughest hydrologic years, numerous communities and environmental organizations are urging Congress to allocate $2 billion to tackle the ongoing drought. Celene Hawkins, who oversees the Nature Conservancy’s Colorado River initiative, emphasized the necessity for these funds to support various drought response projects.
Hawkins highlighted that the funds could assist different communities in removing dead vegetation to prevent wildfires, compensate ranchers and water rights holders for maintaining river water levels, and rehabilitate lands to retain water in headwater areas. “This could potentially be a pretty big bucket of projects,” she stated.
The urgency of the situation is underscored by rapidly declining water supply forecasts. Hawkins stressed the need for swift action, saying, “We don’t really have much time to address all of these challenges in the Colorado River Basin. There’s urgency in implementing these projects to address the crisis and water stress on people and nature in the basin.” She views the $2 billion request as a minimum, rather than a cap.
How the funding will be distributed among the states remains uncertain, as political disagreements over water sharing continue to pose challenges. “I don’t think we’re that far in the process yet,” Hawkins noted, indicating that the allocation of emergency funds needs further discussion.
The funding request is supported by a diverse group of stakeholders, including the Navajo Nation, Routt County in Colorado, and the National Audubon Society. These groups also advocate for Congress to establish a permanent federal funding mechanism to sustain conservation efforts over the long term. “The challenges facing the Basin — drought, wildfire, hydrologic change, and limited water supplies — are structural and ongoing,” they expressed in a letter to Congress. “They cannot be addressed through episodic or emergency appropriations alone.”
Coinciding with this request, federal hydrologists have reported that Lake Powell, the largest reservoir in the upper basin, is on track to receive a historically low runoff. In response, the Interior Department has begun releasing substantial amounts of water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir, located on the Wyoming-Utah border, to support Lake Powell’s water levels and ensure it continues to generate electricity.
This article is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUNC in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.
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