Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) urged the Department of the Interior to immediately cease its freeze of Inflation Reduction Act funding for the Lower Colorado River System Conservation and Efficiency Program. The Senators, representing the three Lower Colorado River Basin states, criticized the Trump Administration’s day-one executive order halting all Inflation Reduction Act disbursements, including pausing the $4 billion passed by Congress for water management and conservation efforts in the Colorado River Basin and other Western areas experiencing drought.

The Colorado River Basin, which supports 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of agricultural land across seven states, depends on a stable and reliable water supply from Lake Mead. The Lower Colorado River System Conservation and Efficiency Program being threatened by the Trump Administration directly adds water to the lake, contributing 1.2 million acre-feet of water in the past two years and raising the lake’s elevation by 15 feet. Projects planned for this year were set to conserve 734,000 more acre-feet and add another nine feet to the lake’s elevation.

These savings were pivotal in securing the historic seven-state consensus agreement last year for interim operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead through 2026, in which the Lower Basin States committed to conserving 3 million acre-feet of water to stabilize the Colorado River System. The Trump Administration’s funding freeze jeopardizes these critical conservation goals while undermining similar multistate agreements in the future.

“This Program, funded with an initial allocation through the Inflation Reduction Act and managed through the Bureau of Reclamation, has been instrumental in increasing water conservation, improving efficiency, and preventing the Colorado River system’s reservoirs from reaching dangerously low levels that threaten water deliveries and power production,” wrote the Senators.

“The need for this water is more urgent than ever. This year’s water outlook is dry, with forecasts predicting below-average supply. 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,” continued the Senators. “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.”

In light of the Office of Personnel Management’s memo last week calling for significant further reductions to the federal workforce, the Senators also pushed the Department of the Interior to make sure that any cuts do not further impact the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the Lower Colorado River System Conservation and Efficiency Program. Reclamation staff are essential to Western water management, where water systems are extremely complex and are closely coordinated with state, tribal, and local authorities.

Senator Padilla has been a leading advocate for securing funding and agreements to conserve the Colorado River Basin. In December 2023, Padilla applauded the Department of the Interior’s announcement of approximately $367 million to California partners to protect the Colorado River Basin, including nearly $295 million for several water conservation agreements with California water agencies. Padilla also worked to ensure that the Inflation Reduction Act included $4 billion for drought resiliency and inland waterways. Last year, Padilla applauded the Lower Basin states’ conservation proposal for the Post-2026 Coordinated Operation of the Colorado River Basin. Additionally, earlier this year, he and Representative Ken Calvert (R-Calif.-41) introduced bipartisan legislation to support Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCR MSCP) activities.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Burgum,

In light of the recent Office of Personnel Management memo calling for significant reductions in the federal workforce, we, as United States Senators representing the Lower Colorado River Basin States, strongly urge the Department of the Interior (Interior) to ensure that any cuts do not further impact the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). Reclamation is already a primarily operational rather than regulatory agency, and staff are indispensable to managing water in the West, where water systems are highly technical, complex, and closely coordinated with state, tribal, and local authorities.

In that same vein, we strongly urge Interior to immediately rescind the funding freeze for projects under the Lower Colorado River System Conservation and Efficiency Program (Program). This Program, funded with an initial allocation through the Inflation Reduction Act and managed through the Bureau of Reclamation, has been instrumental in increasing water conservation, improving efficiency, and preventing the Colorado River system’s reservoirs from reaching dangerously low levels that threaten water deliveries and power production.

The entire Colorado River Basin – supporting 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of agricultural land across seven states – depends on a stable and reliable water supply from Lake Mead. That’s why the Program is so critical – it directly adds water to Lake Mead. In Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024, funded projects contributed 1.2 million acre-feet of water, raising the lake’s elevation by an astounding 15 feet. This year, planned projects were set to conserve an additional 734,000 acre-feet, adding another 9 feet to the lake’s elevation. The water savings produced by these projects were pivotal in securing the historic seven-state consensus agreement in 2024 for interim operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead through 2026. Under this agreement, the Lower Basin States committed to conserving 3 million acre-feet of water to stabilize the Colorado River System. With funding now on hold, these conservation targets are at risk, threatening the progress made and undermining future multistate agreements.

The need for this water is more urgent than ever. This year’s water outlook is dry, with forecasts predicting below-average supply. 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. The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated, as the system remains in Tier 1 shortage.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to working with you to ensure adequate staffing and funding for the Colorado River, and to achieve a lasting seven-state consensus on a long-term operations plan that ensures the sustainability of the Colorado River System.

Sincerely,

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