Colorado River drought contingency plan heads to presidents desk
The House and Senate both passed the Colorado River drought contingency plan, two weeks after water officials told Congress there was an urgent need to address the situation.
If signed by President Donald Trump as expected, it would be the culmination of years of negotiations between the seven states in the Colorado River Basin.
Arizona Senators weighing in on the plan, Martha Mcsally saying “The senate just passed my bipartisan legislation to authorize the drought contingency plan, now it heads to the president’s desk for signature.”
Senator Krysten Sinema says “I’m proud to have worked closely with Arizona stakeholders and colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep the legislation moving forward. I will keep working to ensure the plan is signed into law.”
The votes came in rapid succession Monday evening, with little debate and each chamber approving the measure by acclamation.
House and Senate versions of the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act are identical: Both require that the Interior secretary authorize the water allocation agreement hammered out by the basin states. That deal is designed to prevent a potential water crisis and settle disputes over who gives up water if the river reaches a crisis level.
For Arizona, that means that once Lake Mead levels fell below a certain point, the state would lose access to 192,000 acre-feet a year that it can now pull from the river. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover an acre of land that is one foot deep, or 325,853 gallons.
The plan’s backers note one primary goal is to prevent those drops in reservoir levels from ever happening by requiring states to cede less water but at an earlier point.
