• The four California agencies that use Colorado River water are quietly negotiating combined reductions of between 320,000 and 400,000 acre-feet for 2023.
  • The reductions would be achieved by paying agricultural landowners and farmers to fallow fields or install new conservation technology.
  • The Golden State has the largest and oldest rights to Colorado River water among all basin states, totaling 4.4 million acre-feet per year.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — California water agencies that depend on Colorado River supply are quietly negotiating combined reductions of between 320,000 and 400,000 acre-feet from the fast-dwindling Lake Mead reservoir next year.

“California has an agreement to do a range of no less than 320 and a maximum of 400 (thousand acre-feet),” said Bart Fisher, a lifelong farmer who is vice president of the Palo Verde Irrigation District board. Fisher, who has long served on and for several years led the state’s Colorado River Board, said: “I personally believe it will end up being 400, but … we’ve still got this range of 320 to 400.”