Conservation,” said “while it’s true that some of the low-hanging fruit of water conservation has already been captured, there’s nothing to suggest that we are close to exhausting the urban conserva- tion potential, and the potential for significant agricultural conservation is exciting as long as it’s married to a com- mitment to protect the economic and social viability of rural communities.” More agricultural-to-urban water transfers are possible because of the cushion those transfers currently provide to the urban community. Workgroups identified several areas for potential improvement, such as in- creased outdoor water use efficiency and “cooperative market-based mechanisms” to benefit the Colorado River environ- ment and the recreational opportunities it provides. One workgroup explored environ- mental and recreational needs, find- ing that funding for that purpose is crucial to meet future needs. Sources of sustainable funding are needed for projects designed to boost environ- mental and recreational flows, which “could be increasingly vulnerable,” the report said, adding that balancing the benefits of environmental, recreational


and hydropower flows with agricultural, municipal and industrial water supplies “is a complex challenge.” Taylor Hawes, Colorado River pro-


gram director with the Nature Conser- vancy, said the report “demonstrates how providing water for people and for the river doesn’t have to be in conflict” while highlighting “a few priority reaches that could be proving grounds for mutually beneficial projects.” Many households depend on the river for their water and a decades-long con- servation effort has paid dividends and promises even more. Water conservation and reuse programs at the urban level are on track for more than 700,000 acre-feet per year of additional savings with an additional 400,000 acre-feet of annual water reuse planned by 2030. “For all the bad news about water and water management in the West, there is one shining success story: municipal and industrial water conservation,” according to “Te Case for Conservation.” “Tere’s a tremendous variety of experiences and track records out there, and the way that each provider calculates use (and savings) varies and is difficult to verify … but on balance, the story unfolding in many of the major cities served by the


Historical Supply and Use and Projected Future Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand


Colorado is that water consumption has not appreciably increased during the last several decades, despite the region lead- ing the nation in population growth.” Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River director


with Environmental Defense Fund, said wringing more water from the system is the way to go as opposed to costly, long- term supply augmentation projects. “Having a substantial amount of water conservation potential – that’s a really different framing of the problems and solutions than where we were at the end of the Basin Study … at that time many states and water users were assert- ing that the first thing we need to do is build a big diversion from another river basin,” she said. Reduction in urban water use is well documented though the results are not evenly distributed across the Lower Colorado River Basin. Outdoor irrigation “is a significant


part of the water budget and is an area where additional conservation savings can be obtained but the nuance is that a lot of communities in central and southern Arizona have already made significant strides in that regard,” said Chuck Cullom, Colorado River program manager with the Central Arizona Project. On the urban side, the report notes that while experiencing “significant population growth,” major cities such as Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix, Las Ve- gas, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and San Diego have “substantially decreased” per capita water demand, “partially attenuat- ing the effect of population growth.” Pitt said there are areas where growth


Source: Bureau of Reclamat 4 • Colorado River Project • River Report • Summer 2015


has “decoupled” from increased water demand due to the efforts of people who have figured out how to manage popula- tion growth without significant increases in water demand. Water conservation has been a way of life in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) service area for a long time, much more so in the last few years as imported supplies have dwindled. Te Colorado River provides almost one-half of Southern California’s imported urban supply


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