SALT LAKE CITY — A study by a coalition of environmental groups is calling for all states along the Colorado River to make deep cuts as water supplies decline.
The Great Basin Water Network, Utah Rivers Council and Glen Canyon Institute advanced a policy paper recommending no new dams or diversions; insisting that all states make curtailment plans; offer more transparency in negotiations and water accounting; fix Glen Canyon's "antique plumbing;" provide more water to Native American tribes; invest in water reuse; make farms more resilient; protect endangered species; and recognize groundwater-surface connectivity.
"What we are hoping to do is put forward recommendations that help underscore the uncertainty that we face, but also provide some hope and provide some common sense answers," said Kyle Roerink, the executive director of the Great Basin Water Network.
Zach Frankel, the head of the Utah Rivers Council, argued that cuts being proposed by states as part of negotiations over the future of the Colorado River, are not deep enough.
Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam are a focal point of the policy paper, which calls for infrastructure changes.
"What we're advocating for is for the powers that be to study the overhaul of Glen Canyon Dam, and we're not advocating for a specific solution for it," said Eric Balken, the director of the Glen Canyon Institute. "But what we're saying is that the conversation around re-engineering Glen Canyon Dam needs to be central to the whole Colorado River negotiation."
States are in the midst of negotiations over the future of the Colorado River, which supplies water to more than 40 million people in the West. Deals governing the river expire in 2026. So far, negotiations have been behind closed doors and that has frustrated environmental groups.
Utah has advanced some ideas in negotiations, including the notion of relying upon actual water in the river instead of forecasts to determine who gets what. Environmentalists said that's a good idea, but questioned if there was reliable data to even tell anyone what the flow in the river is.
The Colorado River Authority of Utah, which advocates and negotiates for the state's interests on the river, said it had not yet had a chance to review the environmentalists' paper and did not immediately have a comment on it.
