Water Woes XLII-Colorado River EIS Comment Letter & CUT20
- Mark L. Johnson
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
The Colorado River parties could not agree on how to manage the Colorado River post-2026. Therefore, on 1/16/26, the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) issued a Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
You can download a copy of the EIS Executive Summary at the link below:
Tortolita Alliance has reviewed the EIS, and it is lengthy and complicated.
The EIS includes five alternatives for managing the Colorado River after 2026:
No Action Alternative
Basic Coordination Alternative
Enhanced Coordination Alternative
Maximum Operational Flexibility Alternative
Supply Driven Alternative
Figure ES-5-Key Performance Tradeoffs in Different Hydrologic Conditions (see below) compares the five alternatives using five performance factors under Average, Dry, and Critically Dry conditions. This figure provides a good visual summary of the alternatives and is referenced in TA's comment letter below.
Our proposal is bold but simple. TA's comment letter is shown below. You can also download the letter at the link below.
