The San Diego County Water Authority said a new federal report that forecasts significant increases in reservoir levels along the Colorado River is “welcome news” for San Diego’s water supply.
The report released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation forecasts that a near-record snowpack will raise Lake Mead at Hoover Dam by over 20 feet and Lake Powell farther north by 50 feet.
About two-thirds of San Diego County’s supplies are conserved Colorado River water.
Dan Denham, the Water Authority’s deputy general manager, said the federal report “is definitely welcome news and will buy us time to make crucial decisions.”
But he said the trend toward a hotter and drier climate means a long-term solution to sustainable allocation of Colorado River water remains necessary.
“It’s critical that everyone with a stake in the river — including the Bureau of Reclamation, basin states, tribes and Mexico — continue to develop real and lasting solutions for the river’s long-term operation,” Denham said.
The century-old Colorado River Compact determines how much water each state is entitled to take as the river flows from its headwaters in the Colorado Rockies all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.