Summer Wave: WRRC Webinar Provides Overview of Lower Basin Alternative

At the WRRC Water Webinar on July 17, attendees heard from Kristen Johnson, Colorado River Programs Manager for the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), and Vineetha Kartha, Colorado River Programs Manager for the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The two gave a joint presentation on the Lower Basin Alternative proposed earlier this year to the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) by the Lower Colorado River Basin states. The proposal is intended for use in the development of new operating guidelines for the river following the expiration of the current guidelines in 2026. Johnson and Kartha discussed the key paradigm shifts in the way shortages on the river are determined and allocated, which were highlighted in the Alternative. The proposed approach includes basing determinations on total system contents—multiple reservoirs, not just Lake Mead — and current river conditions, rather than 24-month projections. The proposal was developed using five different hydrologies that Reclamation selected that represent a wide range of minimum and maximum flow sequences. This allows the states to plan for a plausible range of future conditions, including extended dry periods. The webinar presentation included “heat maps” and other graphics to illustrate potential future conditions and how the proposed Alternative would address them. The recorded presentation and slides are available on the WRRC event webpage.

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