In The News

Even if we end up with a good snow year, the long-term trend is clear: drier and hotter and less predictable.

Left unaddressed, these trends could pose a perfect storm for both municipalities and agricultural producers who depend on healthy flows in our rivers. That’s why a few years ago, the Bureau of Reclamation, municipal utilities, conservationists and other river stakeholders banded together to launch an innovative, market-based program, called the System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP).

The goal of the pilot program was to answer this question: Would ranchers and farmers, landowners and other water users in the Upper Colorado Basin be willing to be paid for voluntary, temporary reductions in water use — and, by doing so, help shore up water supplies in Lakes Powell and Mead while providing side benefits like increased flows for fisheries?

We are happy to report that the answer is a resounding “yes.”