unlimited it's the water, stupid

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Colorado River poses another California water conflict that Trump will affect

President Donald Trump's intrusion into California's long-running conflict over water management – essentially favoring farmers over wildlife habitat – has drawn massive media and political attention.

Trump ordered federal water managers to release more water for farmers but the increased flows have so far been largely symbolic because farmers use little water during the winter but need more during the growing season.

Trump's action has been denounced by environmental groups which have long sought to enhance river flows for salmon and other species, with tacit support from Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration.

However, Newsom directed state water managers to maximize retention of runoff from recent rains to raise water levels in reservoirs, an action that some environmentalists criticized as emulating Trump.

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/02/colorado-river-water-rights-trump/

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Water Wins (and some losses) You Might Have Missed in 2024
Audubon's work to protect water for birds and people continues.

At the end of 2024, Congress was able to pass a few water wins. The bills outlined below, in addition to other conservation bills completed at the end of the year, signify hard-won successes for birds and people across the country. Audubon is proud to have supported these efforts over the past two years of the 118th Congress and looks forward to working with the new Congress to pass legislation that didn't make it across the finish line in 2024 (more on that below).

Water Wins

Perhaps the most impactful, bipartisan win was the passage of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, S. 4367, or WRDA 2024. This legislation authorizes aquatic ecosystem restoration projects and programs for the Army Corps of Engineers and passed Congress with huge bipartisan margins of 97-1 in the Senate and 399-18 in the House. Audubon is grateful to the bipartisan leadership from retiring Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Thomas Carper (D-Delaware) and Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Washington) and their teams, who ensured this bill advanced through conference. Specifically, Audubon supported provisions in the bill that:

Directed the Army Corps of Engineers to create a national coastal mapping program, invest in dam safety, economic and hydrologic modeling, and more.

Authorized studies for ecosystem projects in Phoenix, Arizona at Rio Salado Oeste and at the Salton Sea in California. Other important studies include an Upper Mississippi River System Flood Risk and Resiliency Study, a National Academy of Sciences Study on the Upper Rio Grande Basin, and a study on Sea Sparrow Accounting.

Included authorizations for Government Accountability Office (GAO) Studies on important natural infrastructure features, ecosystem services, Tribal coordination, and Project Partnership Agreements.

Approved important project modifications for the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Project at Brandon Road, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, a Bosque Wildlife Restoration Project, and addressing Western Rural Water.

Authorized critical ecosystem restoration projects, including the Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP), the Hatchie–Loosahatchie Mississippi River project, the Lake Okeechobee Component A Storage Reservoir, and a post Authorization Change Report for Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands in Florida.

https://www.audubon.org/news/water-wins-and-some-losses-you-might-have-missed-2024

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Feds ask Colorado River official to resign, leaving another leadership gap during "existential time" for the river
In resignation letter, Anne Castle cautions incoming leaders managing the water supply for 40 million people amid big changes under the Trump administration

Anne Castle expected to be asked to leave her position representing the federal government in Colorado River policy planning. She just didn't know how long it would take to be shown the door.

The answer? Seven days from President Donald Trump's inauguration to her official resignation.

Castle has helped guide Colorado River policy alongside four state officials on an interstate commission representing the Upper Basin — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Former President Joe Biden appointed her to the position in 2022. The request for her resignation came as the Trump administration makes broad moves to replace key leaders and reshape the federal government.

"This is an existential time for the river," Castle wrote in her resignation letter. "We are on the brink of putting in place an operating regime that will govern our lives and our economies for decades."

Historically, representatives in federal positions, like Castle, have helped push the states to reach agreements when they were at an impasse over how to manage the river's future. These federal leaders could play a similar role in current negotiations, which must decide how the river will be managed for years to come before a deadline in 2026.

Castle's departure leaves another gap in the federal leadership lineup at a time when state negotiations are, again, stalled.

Many vacant federal positions tied to Colorado River management are in the Department of the Interior. Congress voted Jan. 30 to name former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as the department's top official.

Colorado water experts are still waiting to see who will hold other key positions — like the Bureau of Reclamation commissioner and Interior's assistant secretary for water and science — and whether they will have the necessary expertise on the Colorado River and other struggling river basins in the West.

The federal commissioner on the Upper Colorado River Commission is a relatively low priority appointment.

After other deputy and assistant secretary positions are filled "then they might get around to the UCRC appointment," said Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District, which aims to protect water resources on the Western Slope. "It would not be unusual for this position to be open for a while."

https://coloradosun.com/2025/02/11/colorado-river-official-resign-leadership-gap-existential-time/

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Arizona senators say federal funding freeze is putting Colorado River at risk

Colorado River conservation programs have stopped receiving money from the federal government despite temporary restraining orders intended to halt the Trump Administration's funding freeze.

Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego raised concerns this week that Colorado River programs are no longer receiving money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. The Senators say freezing these funds could "undo the collaboration and careful planning needed to keep the Colorado River flowing."

Current agreements for splitting the Colorado's water expire in 2026 and negotiations were underway between states, Tribes and the federal government to establish new guidelines. Federal funds were providing billions of dollars for these planning efforts and for drought relief, water access, and conservation projects.

Currently, the Lower Colorado River Basin is under "extreme" drought conditions and major reservoirs are two-thirds empty.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and U.S. Geological Survey declined or did not respond to KNAU's request for information.

https://www.knau.org/knau-and-arizona-news/2025-02-13/arizona-senators-say-federal-funding-freeze-is-putting-colorado-river-at-risk

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Once dried up for decades, is the Colorado River now coming back to life ?



For decades, the Colorado River Delta was little more than a barren wasteland—its once-thriving waterways reduced to cracked earth and invasive shrubs. The river that once carved landscapes and sustained ecosystems had become a ghost of itself, drained by agricultural demands and urban sprawl. But today, something remarkable is happening. Thanks to reforestation efforts and a historic binational agreement, the river is showing signs of a slow but powerful resurgence.


https://glassalmanac.com/once-dried-up-for-decades-is-the-colorado-river-now-coming-back-to-life/

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Stanton urges bipartisan, national action on Colorado River water
US representative sounds the alarm at ASU Congressional Dialogue event

Time is running out to determine the future of the depleted Colorado River, and any further delays in negotiating a deal could be catastrophic, according to U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton.

Stanton, who represents Arizona's 4th District in Congress, participated in the inaugural ASU Congressional Dialogue on Tuesday at the Walton Center for Planetary Health on Arizona State University's Tempe campus. The event, sponsored by the ASU Office of Government and Community Engagement, was titled "The Fight to Protect the Colorado River and Our Water Future." There will be additional Congressional Dialogues later in the year.

The 1922 Colorado River Compact regulates water distribution among seven states — Arizona, Nevada and California in the Lower Basin, and Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the Upper Basin.

Climate change has produced a megadrought that has reduced water in the Colorado River, which was already overallocated to the seven states. Decreases in water allotments over the past few years have cut Arizona's share by about one-fifth.

The deal expires in 2026, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation must decide how to manage the river, including the rights of tribal nations and Mexico, which weren't part of the original agreement.

The Lower and Upper basin regions are at odds over the future of the river, and Stanton blames the Biden administration for not pressuring the two sides to meet as the clock ticks on the expiration.

"The result is that the states are probably further apart than they have ever been on what the future of the river should look like," he said.

"With Arizona, Nevada and California, we have put forth a serious proposal. The Upper Basin states say they shouldn't have to take any cuts because they have never used their full allocation of water.

"Rather than sit down and have serious negotiations, they are threatening litigation. It is an unacceptable situation. Now we're in the Trump administration, and we're in for a do-or-die moment for the future of the river."

https://news.asu.edu/20250220-environment-and-sustainability-stanton-urges-bipartisan-national-action-colorado-river

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Questions and confusion as Trump pauses key funding for shrinking Colorado River
KUNC | By Alex Hager

An executive order issued in the early days of the Trump administration hit pause on at least $4 billion set aside to protect the flow of the Colorado River. The funds from the Inflation Reduction Act were offered to protect the flow of the water supply for about 40 million people and a massive agricultural economy. With the money on hold, Colorado River users are worried about the future of the dwindling water supply.

The river is shrinking due to climate change. The nation's two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, created by dams on the Colorado River, have reached record low levels in recent years amid a megadrought spanning more than two decades. If water levels fall much lower, they could lose the ability to generate hydropower within the massive dams that hold them back, or even lose the ability to pass water downstream.

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allowed Biden to designate $4 billion for Colorado River programs, funding farmers, cities and Native American tribes to conserve Colorado River water by leaving it in those reservoirs. The payments are compensation for lost income .

A lot of the IRA money has already been delivered, but Bart Fisher, who sits on the board of the Palo Verde Irrigation District in California, is worried about what will happen if it goes away.

"If there's no funding," he said, "There will be no conservation."

https://www.kunm.org/local-news/2025-02-26/confusion-trump-pauses-key-a-colorado-river

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Army Corps knew Trump order would waste California water, memo shows
The Army Corps colonel responsible for releasing reservoir water at Trump's direction knew it wouldn't reach Southern California as he promised, a memo obtained by The Post shows.

The Army Corps of Engineers colonel responsible for releasing water from two California reservoirs at President Donald Trump's direction in January knew that it was unlikely to reach the southern part of the state as Trump had promised, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.
The agency carried out Trump's directive, which came in the wake of catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles County, on short notice on Jan. 30, though it would normally require days to coordinate. A memo written four days after the release, obtained by The Post through a public records request, shows how federal officials rushed ahead with the plan to release irrigation water despite objections from the state's elected officials and some local farmers.
Col. Chad W. Caldwell, commander of the Army Corps' Sacramento district, wrote that the water that poured out of Lake Kaweah and Success Lake "could not be delivered to Southern California directly." To do so would have required several steps of coordination with state and federal agencies to transport the water to a rarely used connection point, and it quickly became clear that was impossible in such little time, according to the memo.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/03/07/trump-water-release-california-fires/

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Six U.S. senators urge end to federal freeze of Colorado River Basin funding

Both U.S. senators from Arizona joined those from California and Nevada in a plea to end a federal freeze of $4 billion in water management and conservation for the Colorado River Basin and other Western areas in drought.

The six Democratic senators have criticized Republican President Donald Trump's day one executive order to end all ongoing Inflation Reduction Act payments in a letter Monday to Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum. This includes the $4 billion for water management.

"The need for this water is more urgent than ever," read the letter, signed by U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla of California, and Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.

"This year's water outlook is dry, with forecasts predicting below-average supply," the senators wrote. "Project recipients need certainty that the federal funding they were promised – whether formally under contract or not – will be available so they can plan accordingly. Without continued support from Interior, efforts to conserve water and sustain the communities, economies and ecosystems that rely on the Colorado River are in serious jeopardy."

https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/state/six-u-s-senators-urge-end-to-federal-freeze-of-colorado-river-basin-funding/article_16c8fb3a-fa9a-11ef-962e-132bf8b3555b.html

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Why Trump is already worrying the people in charge of the Colorado River

President Donald Trump's first month in office has worried federal and state officials alike tasked with overseeing the West's all-important water supply.

The Bureau of Reclamation — the federal agency tasked with managing America's largest dams, including Hoover and Glen Canyon on the Colorado River — is facing as much as a 40% staff cut, although the final number could be lower, three people familiar with the matter told CNN. And the agency still doesn't have a nominee for the commissioner to lead it.

Trump's early actions, from staff cuts to directly ordering the US Army Corps of Engineers to open two California dams, have led to concerns over the stability of water management in the region.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/14/climate/trump-colorado-river-west-water/index.html