Metropolitan issues statement on Lower Basin Plan for near-term Colorado River operations

Metropolitan Water District General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh issues the following statement regarding the revised Lower Basin proposal for Colorado River operations through 2028, submitted today to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation:

"Metropolitan has been working for more than a year toward building a consensus among all Colorado River water users for post-2026 operations, to improve both sustainability and certainty on the river. Unfortunately, all seven states have not been able to reach an agreement. With record-low snowpack in the Colorado River Basin producing what is forecast to be the second worst runoff in history, we have shifted to addressing the immediate critical hydrology, working with our Lower Basin partners.

"The plan put forth today by the Lower Basin aims to address the historically dry conditions in the near term, through reductions in water use and other actions. This conservation will help us prepare for the serious challenges the Basin will be confronting in the coming months.

"At the same time, Metropolitan remains hopeful an agreement can be reached in the next year among the seven states for broad conservation programs across the Basin. We recognize the significant challenges the Upper Basin states are facing this year, but also believe they can ramp up programs to support the river when conditions improve. For this short-term plan, the reductions Southern California is taking are significant, but we can find a way to manage them. What is not manageable is continued uncertainty with this water supply, which is the foundation of water reliability throughout the Basin. We must recognize that the river is changing, and the only way we can ensure the communities, businesses and ecosystems across the Southwest have the water they need in the decades to come is by all seven states working together."