Colorado River
Water officials from the states that share the Colorado River reached agreement on a wide-ranging drought management plan that they will propose to Interior Secretary Gale Norton this week.
After talks in Las Vegas, water officials said they put the finishing touches on proposals that would allow them flexibility in determining how much water is released from Lake Powell to Lake Mead, the system's two major reservoirs. It would force the states to review their management plans in times of extreme shortages.
The proposal also encourages investment in technologies, water exploration and infrastructure improvements that could increase the amount of water in the system, and it would let the states reap the benefits of their own projects. The plan also urges the federal government to pressure Mexico in times of drought to take less of the 1.5 million acre-feet of water it's entitled to under treaty. Learn More.
February 1, 2006 6:40 AM | Category: Water