Metropolitan Issues Statement on Release of 2027-2028 Guidelines, ROD for Colorado River Operations
Metropolitan Water District General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh issues the following statement regarding the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s release today of Colorado River 2027-2028 Operating Guidelines, the Record of Decision for the Post-2026 Colorado River Operations Final EIS and the August 24-month study.
“The guidelines and Record of Decision released today, which call for 3.2 million acre-feet in contributions from the Lower Basin through 2028, are necessary to help the Colorado River Basin manage through the immediate challenges we’re facing after record-low snowpack. But they are only a first step toward a short-term solution. Critical work remains to prevent our shared reservoirs from reaching levels that would jeopardize the water and power supplies of millions of people, in the immediate future and long term.
“First, in the coming months, California agricultural and urban water users must work to develop agreements on how reductions will be shared within the state. Then, water users across the basin must make a renewed effort to forge a longer-term agreement that produces additional reductions, including through participation of all seven Basin states. Renegotiating these issues every year means we could be one dry year away from crisis and one legal battle away from system failure.
