Padilla Pushes for Resumption of Colorado River Project Funding
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US Senators from California, Arizona, and Nevada have called for the Department of the Interior to immediately stop its freeze of Inflation Reduction Act funding for the Lower Colorado River System Conservation and Efficiency Program. They argue that the funding freeze, enacted as an executive order by the Trump administration, threatens vital water management and conservation efforts in the Colorado River Basin which supports 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of agricultural land. The senators note that the program added 1.2 million acre-feet of water to Lake Mead in the past two years, raising the lake’s elevation by 15 feet, and that planned projects for this year were set to conserve an additional 734,000 acre-feet and raise the lake’s elevation by another nine feet.
U.S. Senators Urge for Immediate Halt on Inflation Reduction Act Funding Freeze
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ruben Gallego, Mark Kelly, and Jacky Rosen have called on the Department of the Interior to urgently stop the freeze on Inflation Reduction Act funding for the Lower Colorado River System Conservation and Efficiency Program. The senators criticized the Trump Administration’s executive order halting all disbursements from the Act, which has paused the allocation of $4 billion for water management and conservation in the drought-ridden Colorado River Basin and other Western areas.
The Colorado River Basin, supporting 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of agricultural land in seven states, relies on a steady water supply from Lake Mead. The program, at risk due to the Trump Administration’s actions, has added 1.2 million acre-feet of water to the lake in the past two years, raising the lake’s elevation by 15 feet. Planned projects this year were anticipated to conserve an additional 734,000 acre-feet and raise the lake’s elevation by nine more feet.
These conservation efforts played a key role in the historic seven-state consensus agreement last year for interim operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead through 2026. The Trump Administration’s funding freeze threatens these vital conservation targets and future multistate agreements.
The senators emphasized that the program, funded initially through the Inflation Reduction Act and managed by the Bureau of Reclamation, has been vital in improving water conservation and efficiency, and preventing dangerously low levels in the Colorado River system’s reservoirs. “The need for this water is more urgent than ever. This year’s water outlook is dry, with forecasts predicting below-average supply. Project recipients need certainty that the federal funding they were promised will be available so they can plan accordingly,” the senators wrote.
Following the Office of Personnel Management’s memo last week seeking further reductions to the federal workforce, the senators also urged the Department of the Interior to ensure any cuts do not further affect the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the program. Reclamation staff are essential to Western water management, which involves highly complex water systems coordinated with state, tribal, and local authorities.
Senator Padilla, a strong advocate for securing funding and agreements to conserve the Colorado River Basin, recognized the Department of the Interior’s allocation of approximately $367 million to California partners for Colorado River Basin protection, including nearly $295 million for several water conservation agreements with California water agencies. He also contributed to the inclusion of $4 billion for drought resiliency and inland waterways in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Full text of the letter is available here.
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