Colorado River Basin Cities, Businesses, Farmers, Utilities and Conservationists Unite to Call for $2 Billion in Federal Drought Funding
More than 70 organizations from across the Colorado River Basin launch a coalition to stabilize water supplies.
Media Contacts
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Lindsay Schlageter
Associate Director, Marketing and Communications, Colorado River
The Nature Conservancy
Phone: 612-968-3141
Email: lindsay.schlageter@tnc.org
A broad coalition of organizations from throughout the Colorado River Basin is urging Congress to provide at least $2 billion in new federal funding to begin to address the region’s escalating water supply crisis. The coalition includes more than 70 groups from Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Tribal Nations. A link to the letter sent to Congressional leadership today is here.
The request reflects growing consensus among traditionally diverse interests that immediate federal investment is needed to reduce drought risks, protect critical infrastructure and preserve the long-term reliability, value and stability of Colorado River water for all Basin communities and Tribes. The requested funding would support near-term drought mitigation programming that builds on the Bureau of Reclamation’s existing investments to address urgent water supply risks and position the Basin for longer-term resilience.
This year, the Upper Colorado River Basin experienced the lowest snowpack totals in recorded history. The call for action comes as the Colorado River system faces acute stress from the poor snowpack, along with exceptionally low runoff and depleted reservoir storage. Lake Powell is now approaching a critical threshold that puts hydropower at risk—prompting immediate drought response measures involving Flaming Gorge Reservoir and reduced releases from Glen Canyon Dam. Together, these conditions threaten drinking water supplies, agricultural production, reliable hydropower generation, fish and wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation economies and critical water delivery infrastructure for more than 35 million Americans.
Low snowpack conditions threaten drinking water supplies, agricultural production, reliable hydropower generation, fish and wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation economies and critical water delivery infrastructure for more than 35 million Americans.
The breadth of the coalition demonstrates that securing the Colorado River is not a narrow sector issue—it is a shared regional and national priority tied to food security, water reliability, trust responsibility, affordable energy, economic stability and ecosystem health.
“Recent emergency measures to prop up water levels in Lake Powell buy us time to avert immediate catastrophe, but a durable path forward requires more than short-term actions,” said Steve Wolff, general manager of the Southwestern Water Conservation District. “This funding would provide an essential bridge to help the Basin navigate the current crisis while building the tools, mechanisms and opportunities needed to move toward long-term stability across all seven basin states.”
“The West cannot conserve its way out of this challenge alone—Western communities are already working overtime, all the time,” said Samantha Barncastle, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance. “Our water infrastructure was designed for a climate and hydrology that no longer exist, and every year we delay modernization, the risks to farms, cities, ecosystems and rural economies grow more severe. Congress has an opportunity to support bold infrastructure investments and collaborative water solutions that will help buffer communities against both immediate drought impacts and the long-term realities of aging infrastructure, changing water cycles and population growth. We appreciate the collaboration that made this initiative possible; seeing interests from all over the Basin and all different sectors come together in such a big way is promising for our future.”
“The Colorado River is the quiet backbone of San Diego County’s daily life, sustaining our businesses, our farms and our communities. As pressures on the river system grow, we must accelerate the innovative efforts to manage the river more efficiently and sustainably,” said Dan Denham, general manager, San Diego County Water Authority. “Local and regional agencies are doing their best, but the scale of the challenge requires strong partnerships across every level of government. With strategic federal investments, we can strengthen the systems that keep water flowing to millions while ensuring a more resilient future for the entire basin.”
The coalition emphasized that this near-term bridge funding should be paired with a durable, long-term federal funding mechanism to support voluntary conservation efforts across sectors. Long-term federal investment is essential to help address impacts to Tribal and other affected water users and secure the engineered and natural infrastructure necessary to stabilize the Colorado River system, advance innovative water savings solutions and evaluate opportunities to augment supplies.
The Colorado River Basin faces ongoing threats from drought, wildfires and limited water supplies,” said Sara Porterfield, Colorado River Program director & Western water policy advisor for Trout Unlimited, working in coordination with other conservation organizations on this effort, including The Nature Conservancy, American Rivers, Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Western Resource Advocates. “These challenges are not going away, and the dire impacts on drinking water, food supplies, energy production and local economies are growing. A near-term federal funding bridge is essential to keep agricultural producers viable, protect local communities, ensure water conservation responsibilities are shared equitably across all sectors and invest in the health of the rivers and landscapes that the entire system runs on.”
Current coalition members include:
Agribusiness and Water Council of Arizona
Aguila Irrigation District
Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
American Rivers
Arizona Electrical District Number Seven
Arizona Electrical District Number Eight
Arizona Power Authority
Arizona Wildlife Federation
Association of California Water Agencies
Aurora Water
Central Arizona Irrigation and Drainage District
City of Española, New Mexico
Colorado Farm Bureau
Colorado River Energy Users Association
Colorado River Water Conservation District
Colorado Springs Utility
Colorado Water Congress
CSG West Colorado River Forum
Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart; NM State Senate and Forum co-chair
Assemblymember Diane Papan; CA State Assembly and Forum co-chair
Denver Water
Electrical District No. 3 of Pinal County, Arizona
Electrical District No. 4 of Pinal County, Arizona
El Prado Water and Sanitation District
Environmental Defense Fund
Family Farm Alliance
Farmers Conservation Alliance
Grand County, Colorado
Grand Valley Water Users Association
Harquahala Valley Power District
Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors
Imperial Irrigation District
Irrigation & Electrical Districts of Arizona
Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians
Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation & Drainage District
McMicken Irrigation District
McMullen Valley Water Conservation and Drainage District
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District
National Audubon Society
Navajo Nation
Netafim Precision Agriculture, an Orbia Company
New Magma Irrigation and Drainage District
New Mexico Water Resources Association
New Mexico Wildlife Federation
Northern Advisory Council to the Colorado River Authority of Utah
Northwest Colorado Council of Governments Water Quality/Quantity Committee
Orchard Mesa Irrigation District
Pacific Institute
Paloma Irrigation and Drainage District
Pueblo Water
Roosevelt Irrigation District
Rock Springs Grazing Association
Routt County, Colorado
San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District
San Diego County Water Authority
San Juan Water Commission
Southeast Advisory Council to the Colorado River Authority of Utah
Southern Ute Indian Tribe
Southwestern Water Conservation District
Sublette County Conservation District
Tonopah Irrigation District
The Nature Conservancy
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Trout Unlimited
Twin Lakes Reservoir & Canal Company
Universal Access to Water for Tribal Communities
Ute Water Conservancy District
Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District
Western Growers Association
Western Landowners Alliance
Western Resource Advocates
Western States Ranches
Western States Water Council
Wyoming Stockgrowers
Yuma County Agricultural Water Coalition
Yuma Mesa Irrigation and Drainage District
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