Colorado River Aqueduct and LA Water Management Crisis

Introduction: LA's Water Challenge

The city and county of Los Angeles face significant and growing water challenges. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the Colorado River Aqueduct have long supplied a major portion of the region's water needs, but continued reliance on this single source is shortsighted and could lead to serious shortages in the future. The flow and volume of water in the Colorado River is decreasing, and managing this declining supply will require skill, new technologies, and innovative solutions to ensure Los Angeles has enough water to meet its future needs.

The water management issue at the center of this discussion involves the LADWP's construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct and the Metropolitan Water District's (MWD) current responsibility to distribute that water to member agencies throughout the region. The core problem is that more water is being drawn from the Colorado River by the seven member states of the Colorado River Compact than is being replenished by rain and snowmelt. As a result, the river is slowly drying up, along with Lake Mead, the major storage facility for the lower Colorado. One water district manager put it plainly: "The problem is simple, with nine million acre-feet a year [going] in and 10 million acre-feet a year out, the system will ultimately go bankrupt or, in our case, Lake Mead will empty" (Hofer, 2008, p. 1). Furthermore, as water levels in the river drop, the delta at the river's terminus is rapidly disappearing, and what was once a wide, flourishing river and delta system has been reduced to a trickle (Warrick, 2002). The river is running out of time, and those who depend on it must find alternative sources of water and more sustainable management strategies.

The Colorado River Aqueduct traces its origins to the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which allocated water rights among the seven states that share the Colorado River drainage basin. As one journalist notes, "The 1922 Compact, forged by the states and stamped by the U.S. Congress, remains the foundation for the river's operations. It divides the use of the waters of the river on a 50-50 basis between the upper four and the lower three basin states, allotting 7.5 million acre-feet to each basin" (Hofer, 2007, p. 2). The Compact apportions the river "between two groups of states — the Upper Basin, comprising Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, and the Lower Basin, comprising Arizona, Nevada, and California" (Schulte, 2002, p. 14). This division was necessary to prevent California from appropriating a disproportionate share of the river's water, as it had historically attempted to do.

History of the Colorado River Aqueduct

Construction of the aqueduct itself followed. The LADWP notes, "In 1925 the Department of Water and Power (DWP) was established and the voters of Los Angeles approved a $2 million bond issue to perform the engineering for the Colorado River Aqueduct" ("The Colorado River," 2008). Construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1941, when water first traveled through the aqueduct to reservoirs in the Los Angeles area.

Several milestones have shaped the management of the Colorado River Aqueduct over the decades. The establishment of the MWD shortly after the aqueduct was approved stands out as particularly significant, because the MWD continues to administer the water today and regulates how much each of its member water districts receives.

Another defining milestone was the Seven States Water Management Agreement, signed in April 2007. This agreement details how the river's water will be managed going forward and grants greater flexibility to some member states in accessing water supplies. Many observers regard it as the most important development in Colorado River management since the original 1922 Compact. Taken together, these milestones define how stored water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead is allocated and governed. Importantly, the 2007 agreement also encourages water agencies to develop alternative forms of water management — some of which the LADWP is already exploring, including desalination plants and the banking of unused water in Lake Mead.

Key Milestones in Colorado River Management

The Colorado River Aqueduct and the flow from the Colorado River are being managed relatively effectively today, largely because of the 2007 agreement. The agreement allows the MWD to create an "intentionally created surplus" (ICS) of water and store it in Lake Mead for use during shortages or droughts. This surplus water is generated through conservation measures in farmlands, and the MWD is currently testing the program in cooperation with Lake Mead officials.

However, there are areas where management could be improved. Consumers are among the largest users of water, and residential lawns and gardens account for a substantial share of that consumption. It would be prudent for Southern California water districts to actively encourage homeowners to replace traditional lawns and landscaping with low-water xeriscaping, which would produce significant water savings across the region. Additionally, more research and investment are needed in alternative technologies, including desalination, underground water storage, and stormwater capture and reuse.

Alongside infrastructure solutions, consumer-level conservation measures hold considerable promise. Providing homeowners with stronger incentives to purchase Energy Star-rated appliances — such as washing machines and dishwashers that use less water — and to install low-flow toilets and water fixtures would meaningfully reduce overall demand. While the MWD does maintain a water-saving strategy, many residents of the region appear not to fully recognize the severity of the situation. Because water has always seemed reliably available, many assume it always will be. That assumption is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Greater public awareness, combined with targeted financial incentives and investment in new technologies, is essential to closing the gap between supply and demand. Programs promoting desalination, stormwater management, and groundwater banking must move from the experimental phase to broader implementation if the region is to remain resilient against prolonged drought.

Conclusion: Preparing for a Water-Scarce Future

Warrick, J. (2002, February/March). A river once ran through it. National Wildlife.