Trump’s Order Pauses $4B for Colorado River Conservation Efforts

As the Colorado River faces a precarious future, a pause on crucial funding has left many dependent users in a state of uncertainty. An executive order from the early days of the Trump administration has frozen at least $4 billion, initially allocated from the Inflation Reduction Act to safeguard the river’s flow. This pause affects the water supply that sustains approximately 40 million people and an extensive agricultural sector.

The Colorado River’s shrinking levels are largely attributed to climate change, with its two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, hitting record low levels due to a prolonged megadrought. If these water levels continue to decline, the dams may no longer be able to generate hydropower or pass water downstream.

Under the Biden administration, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act earmarked $4 billion for Colorado River programs, aiming to support farmers, cities, and Native American tribes in conserving water by leaving it in reservoirs. The funding compensates for lost income due to reduced water usage.

However, with this funding now in limbo, stakeholders like Bart Fisher, a board member of the Palo Verde Irrigation District in California, voice concerns over the absence of financial support. “If there’s no funding,” Fisher noted, “There will be no conservation.” Farmers in his district, who rely on the river to cultivate crops and cattle feed, face potential financial losses if conservation efforts are halted.

Currently, the Palo Verde Irrigation District alone is slated to receive around $40 million for reduced water use. As the next funding cycle approaches in August, uncertainty looms over whether these funds will materialize, prompting farmers to reconsider their financial plans.

The executive order, titled “Unleashing American Energy,” signed on Trump’s first day in office, emphasizes reducing regulatory burdens to promote energy and natural resources. However, it also mandates that agencies pause the disbursement of Inflation Reduction Act funds. Anne Castle, who served in federal water policy roles, remarked, “These are not woke environmental programs. These are essential to continued ability to divert water.”

Water users affected by the funding freeze have sought clarity from the federal government but report receiving minimal information. The halt has disrupted conservation programs critical in sustaining the water supply, amid ongoing legal disputes among Colorado River Basin states over water allocation. “Having this appropriated funding suddenly taken away undoes years and years of very careful collaboration among the states in the Colorado River Basin,” Castle added. “And threatens the sustainability of the entire system.”

Beyond conservation, the Inflation Reduction Act allocated hundreds of millions for initiatives to maintain clean and healthy tributaries of the Colorado River. Projects planned by conservation groups, nonprofits, Native American tribes, and local governments include wildfire prevention and habitat restoration. Sonja Chavez of the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District noted, “If there isn’t some resolution to the freeze or some additional guidance on what’s going to happen for folks, we may have to put our entire programs on pause.”

Smaller water conservation projects, reliant on federal funding, face unique challenges due to the funding halt. Holly Loff, a grant writer in Western Colorado, emphasized the critical role of federal funds, stating, “No one can really compete with those big dollars, or very few other entities besides the federal government can fund at those levels.”

The pause threatens not only local economies but also broader sectors, including those far removed from the river but dependent on its water for agricultural produce. Loff explained, “Our economy is going to be impacted. It’s just far-reaching. And I really can’t think of how anyone can avoid being impacted.”

This story is part of ongoing coverage of water in the West, produced by KUNC in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.