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By Joe Edwards
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A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is urging congressional leaders to include emergency Colorado River funding in an upcoming supplemental appropriations package, warning that worsening drought and falling reservoir levels threaten regional water, agriculture, power supplies, and industry.
In a July 17 letter to GOP Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, and ranking member Rosa DeLauro, Representatives Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican, and Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat, pressed for action as lawmakers weigh a supplemental funding measure transmitted June 24.
The lawmakers argued that any emergency spending package designed to strengthen national security must also address risks to the Colorado River Basin, where they cited "prolonged drought and rapidly declining water levels" endangering millions of residents.
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Lawmakers Warn of a Worsening Water Crisis
The letter stresses that federal investments are urgently needed to bolster water supply resilience and curtail consumptive use throughout the basin. Signatories noted that one in 10 Americans relies on the river for drinking water, and 90% of U.S. winter produce crops depend on its supply.
Furthermore, the Hoover and Glen Canyon dams generate electricity for 2.5 million people, while the river system and associated parks and recreation areas contribute more than $26 billion annually to the outdoor economy.
Lawmakers also linked the river's health to national security, pointing out that the basin supports advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and defense industries across the West. Natural flow measurements on the river's main stem and tributaries now average 20 percent lower than 20th-century levels.
Biggs emphasized that the crisis extends far beyond the Southwest.
“For desert dwellers, nothing is more important than protecting and cultivating our water resources,” the congressman said in a press release that was published Friday. “The Colorado River situation is not just an issue for Arizona and the West; it’s an issue that affects the entire country because of the national industries that depend on this water source.”
While Congress previously allocated $4 billion for drought mitigation in Western states under a 2022 law—prioritizing the Colorado River Basin—lawmakers in the letter noted that less than $100 million of that funding remains. Projections cited in the letter indicate unseasonably high spring temperatures and record-low snowpacks will drive Lake Powell down to 3,504.32 feet and Lake Mead to 1,037.03 feet by December 31, 2026.
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Plan Expected Soon as States Negotiate New Agreements
The funding push comes as a broader plan for Lake Mead and the Colorado River system appears to be nearing.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum convened a virtual meeting on Tuesday with the governors of the seven states that the Colorado River serves—Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico in the Upper Basin; Arizona, California and Nevada in the Lower Basin, “to address the current state of the Colorado River and discuss strategies for future management and operations,” according to a news release. Those states have been attempting to negotiate new water-sharing agreements, with current guidelines set to expire this year.
Titus said in a statement last week that recently released Bureau of Reclamation projections show Lake Mead could fall below its 2022 record low by the end of next month and drop 31 feet below that level by mid-2028. “We can wait no longer to address this crisis and the impacts it will have on the millions of people who rely on the Colorado River,” she said.
The letter was signed by Biggs, Titus and Representatives Melanie Stansbury, Elijah Crane, Gabe Vasquez, Greg Stanton, J. Luis Correa, Yassamin Ansari, Jim Costa, Adelita Grijalva, Abraham Hamadeh and Paul Gosar.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: John Fitzpatrick and Anthony Murray.
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