CALIFORNIA - Despite a bountiful precipitation year in the West, eyes are trained on reservoir levels and the long-term impacts of years’ long droughts. Most recently, the Biden Administration announced it will pay the Imperial Irrigation District in Southern California—the Colorado River’s largest water user—an estimated $77.6 million to conserve 100,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead this year.

As news source Nevada Current observed, it is farmland that is significantly impacted by and utilizes water from the California district, with the supply irrigating nearly half a million acres of farmland in the Imperial Valley. Under the agreement, the compensation for water conserved by farmers in the district comes out to $776 per acre-foot, according to the news source, with federal water managers aiming to raise Lake Mead’s elevation by one and a half feet while making farmers, who are most affected by the cuts, “financially whole.”

The Imperial Irrigation District’s board voted unanimously to approve the complicated agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which is dependent on simultaneous agreements with numerous other Southern California agencies.

This is the latest in a series of moves to conserve water in the West. In addition to California, Nevada and Arizona have also agreed to massive water cuts, which are broken down in detail here. And, earlier this year, Congress approved $4 billion for the Colorado River and other western drought resiliency projects from the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Bureau of Reclamation is using funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to invest another $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including water purification and reuse, water storage and conveyance, desalination and dam safety, Nevada Current reported.

The journey to water recovery is clearly a long one, with multiple sides vying for the limited resources currently available. As ag continues to advocate for the importance of keeping crops hydrated, AndNowUKnow has reached out to representatives for further insight and will continue to report.