Colorado River Basin Conservation Act

The Colorado River Basin Conservation Act (S. 4579) extends the federal government’s authority to fund and manage pilot programs aimed at conserving water in the Colorado River system through 2026. These programs focus on increasing water levels in critical reservoirs like Lake Mead by incentivizing voluntary reductions in water use among agricultural, municipal, and industrial users across seven Western states. For citizens in the region, this bill aims to stabilize the primary water supply for 40 million people and support long-term drought resilience by testing new methods to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching dangerously low levels.