House subcommittee considers reauthorizing Colorado River conservation pilot through 2026

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries heard testimony on HR 231, the Colorado River Basin System Conservation Extension Act of 2025, a bill to reauthorize the Colorado River Basin System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP) through fiscal year 2026.

Representative Harriet Hegeman, chair of the subcommittee, told the panel the bill would extend SCPP authority and require a report to Congress on the program's continued effectiveness. "HR 231, which I sponsored and would reauthorize the Colorado River Basin System Conservation Pilot Program or SCPP through fiscal year 2026," she said during opening remarks.

The bill's supporters illustrated how SCPP projects operate. "From 2015 to 2017, the upper basin SCPP funded 45 projects for a consumptive use reduction of approximately 22,000 acre feet at a total cost of $4,500,000," Hegeman said when describing the program's record. The program provides grants for temporary, voluntary and compensated reductions in consumptive water use that keep water in the river system for storage and downstream needs.

Fourth-generation farmer Nathan Thane of Green River, Utah, described his family's experience participating in SCPP projects. "The SCPP has opened our eyes to the fact that water we are saving and leaving in the river is benefiting Utah and also meeting our obligations there, and allowing water to be put in Lake Powell, Lake Mead downstream," Thane said. He told the subcommittee his operation had returned "over 2,000 acre feet of water to the reservoirs" through conservation projects and that SCPP payments made fallowing and other conservation practices financially feasible for his farm.

Supporters framed the bill as a time-limited tool rather than a permanent management solution. Chair Hegeman emphasized the legislation "is not and should not be viewed as a permanent solution to addressing the drought conditions in the basin. However, at this time, it is a tool that the upper basin states can use to reduce risk to test new innovative water management strategies." Ranking Member Jaime Herrera Hoyle and other Democrats expressed broad support for using federal programs to help local communities manage and conserve water.

Committee members and witnesses also discussed how SCPP interacts with state water laws, compact obligations and downstream reservoir storage, and highlighted the program's accountability measures (grants to public entities, measurable consumptive use reductions and reporting requirements).

The subcommittee did not take a vote during the hearing; members requested additional information and set the hearing record to remain open for written questions and responses. The chair and sponsors urged prompt consideration of reauthorization to avoid a lapse in authority and to allow the program to continue testing voluntary conservation tools while broader post-2026 basin solutions are pursued.

Ending: The hearing record will remain open for 10 business days for additional responses. Committee members asked witnesses for follow-up materials and the chair said she expects to work with basin states, tribes and stakeholders on a post-2026 plan while reauthorizing SCPP as an interim tool.