Metropolitan Partners With Federal Government to Help Water Levels in Historic-Low Lake Mead

Agreement will add up to 200,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water in the reservoir this year, supporting hydropower generation

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the water level at Lake Mead projected to soon reach its lowest point since it was initially filled, Metropolitan Water District is working with the federal government to help add water to the reservoir and protect hydropower generation at Hoover Dam, under an agreement approved today by Metropolitan's Board of Directors.

Under terms of the agreement, the United States Bureau of Reclamation will compensate Metropolitan for leaving up to 200,000 acre-feet of its Colorado River supplies in Lake Mead this year. (An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, enough water to serve roughly three households.) The action is possible because of three decades of major investments in diverse water sources, storage and conservation. Water from the Colorado River and Northern California provide about half of the water supply for 19 million people in Southern California.

"Over the last 30 years, we've transformed how Southern California secures its water future. By investing in diverse water supplies, incentivizing conservation, and capturing and storing water whenever it's available, we've added resilience to our system," said Metropolitan Board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr., adding that Metropolitan and its ratepayers have invested $1.7 billion in conservation, water recycling and groundwater recovery since 1990, producing over 8.8 million acre-feet of water. "Those decades of forward-thinking investments allow us to step forward and help stabilize the Colorado River when it needs us most."

"That's why flexibility in how we operate is so important – so we can take advantage of opportunities like this one to help when the water is available," he added.

Under the agreement approved by the board, Reclamation will pay Metropolitan $325 per acre-foot, up to $65 million, to keep these supplies in Lake Mead this year. The funding comes from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act's Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program.

The board also approved two additional agreements that leverage Metropolitan's longstanding partnerships with the Quechan Tribe and Bard Water District, allowing Reclamation to fund the addition of up to 19,000 acre-feet of conserved agricultural water to Lake Mead annually in 2027 and 2028. Metropolitan worked with its agricultural partners and Reclamation on similar agreements in 2023 to preserve water in Lake Mead.

After record-low snowpack in the Colorado River Basin this year, Lake Mead's water level has dropped to a near historic low. If Lake Mead drops too low, hydropower generation capacity at Hoover Dam could be reduced by 70%, cutting a critical electricity supply for the Southwest.

Metropolitan General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh emphasized that these water agreements are only temporary solutions and more long-term commitments are needed, requiring consensus among the seven Colorado River Basin states for how they will operate the Colorado River after the current guidelines expire at the end of the year.

"We're grateful to be in the position this year to help reduce the impacts of drought on the Colorado River system as it faces unprecedented challenges," he said. "But while these agreements provide important near-term support, lasting progress will require long-term solutions. If we all commit to reducing our use, we can avoid deeper cuts and create lasting change that will benefit future generations who rely on the Colorado River Basin."