Water managers in the Upper Colorado River Basin have taken a step toward creating a formal mechanism for tracking and storing conserved water in Lake Powell and other upper basin reservoirs, according to reporting by Heather Sackett from The Aspen Times.
Representatives from four states unanimously passed a motion directing staff to develop a proposal for tracking water saved through conservation programs, with a deadline set for Aug. 12.
“We have heard from water users and others across the Upper Basin that there is interest in ‘getting credit’ for conserved water — in other words, protecting this water in Lake Powell,” says Amy Ostdiek, Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Interstate, Federal & Water Information section chief. “What the commissioners directed staff to do was simply to explore opportunities to do so.”
This effort builds on the System Conservation Pilot Program, which pays water users to conserve water by fallowing fields. Despite saving approximately 101,000 acre-feet of water over two years, concerns have emerged about the lack of tracking, known as shepherding, which could allow conserved water to be used downstream without benefiting upper basin reservoirs.
Water managers hope that the new proposal will address this gap by creating a system for protecting and crediting conserved water in Lake Powell, according to the Aspen Times report.
