Upper-basin negotiators say voluntary conservation needed as Colorado River supply drops

Mark Stilson of the Colorado River Authority of Utah told Carbon County commissioners that negotiations among the seven basin states aim to replace expiring operational guidelines and that “one way or another there’s going to be a reduction” in water available from the Colorado River.

The update outlined the basin context and the key choices negotiators face: the Lower Basin states have signaled they will accept the first 1.5 million acre-feet of reductions, but deeper cuts of 2 to 4 million acre-feet will require agreement on how additional reductions are shared. Stilson said the Upper Basin states have proposed voluntary measures that include credits for water saved and a Lake Powell account to which conserved water would be credited.

Stilson placed the current negotiations in legal and historical context. The 1922 Colorado River Compact divided basin apportionments, and later documents such as the 2007 interim guidelines and the 2019 drought contingency plans govern coordinated operations; those temporary agreements expire this year, he said. Stilson warned that continued low inflows have driven reservoir elevations down and could make compliance with compact obligations difficult in the coming decade.

Stilson described a voluntary, compensated program Utah is piloting for 2025–26. The state legislature provided $5 million for a pilot. Under the pilot, conservation would be compensated at published rates: $390 per acre-foot for conserved consumptive use, $150 per acre-foot for irrigation-system conversions, and $150 per acre-foot for storage forbearance. Stilson said if all 27 applicants were accepted this year, the program would save just over 22,000 acre-feet per year at an estimated $6.3 million per year, exceeding the available $5 million pilot fund.

Stilson said the voluntary approach aims to avoid mandatory, priority-based cuts that would be administered without compensation and could affect storage reservoirs and hydropower reliant on those reservoirs. "We want compact compliance," Stilson said, "and we want the threat of a compact call that has unlimited cuts to be taken off of the table." He summarized the upper-basin proposal as including voluntary conservation, crediting of conserved water at Powell, and temporary compensated programs to preserve agriculture while reducing consumptive use.

Commissioners asked about reopening the compact and the risks of litigation. Stilson said litigation or reopening the compact could remove local control and leave decisions to courts or nonlocal political processes; he recommended negotiation. The commission discussed local implications and noted Schofield Reservoir water-share holders could be among the first locally affected if mandatory reductions are imposed.

Stilson closed by saying the seven basin states hoped to find consensus in the coming weeks and still must engage Mexico; there is an August 2026 deadline for a final agreement.