Program supports Colorado River water users as they explore innovative strategies to conserve water
Bipartisan bill extends Conservation Pilot Program through 2026
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, John Barrasso, Michael Bennet, Cynthia Lummis, John Curtis and Representative Harriet Hageman reintroduced the bipartisan, bicameral Colorado River Basin System Conservation Extension Act to extend the System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP), which was established to support innovative water conservation projects to combat the drought across the Colorado River Basin. This legislation extends the pilot program through 2026 as Colorado River Basin states, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and other stakeholders continue discussions on potential long-term water management once current operational rules expire in 2026. The pilot program will help the Upper Basin examine water management strategies that can help water users manage prolonged and severe drought.
“The Colorado River’s survival depends on our ability to adapt to a drier future,” said Hickenlooper. “With SCPP, we spend less time hand wringing, and more energy finding innovative ways to conserve the West’s most precious resource.”
“Wyoming and other Colorado River Basin states have worked together to conserve water in the Colorado River system. Programs like the System Conservation Pilot Project provide our farmers and ranchers with resources to conserve water in the Colorado River and lakes they depend on,” said Barrasso. “Our bipartisan legislation extends these important programs to help address drought issues across our states.”
“As drought wreaks havoc on the Colorado River system, Colorado and Upper Basin states are doing their part and stepping up to conserve real water,” said Bennet.
“The west leads the nation in cutting-edge water conservation and management practices,” said Lummis. “Forward-thinking approaches like the System Conservation Pilot Project delivers critical water conservation resources to ranchers and farmers throughout the Cowboy State, and I am excited to partner with my colleagues across the aisle to protect Wyoming communities by continuing this successful program.”
“Over one-fourth of the water in Utah comes from the Colorado River, and 60% of Utahns benefit directly from it,” said Curtis. “Our legislation enables Upper Colorado River Basin States like Utah to continue conservation efforts to maintain the River’s vitality—which is essential to supporting our farmers, providing water for our communities, keeping our economy strong, and supporting the environment.”
“The SCPP is essential to exploring alternative methods to severe water regulation during droughts for the citizens of Wyoming,” said Hageman. “It is critical that we reauthorize this program and continue exploring hydrological conditions in the Upper Basin.”
Hickenlooper and Barrasso’s bipartisan Colorado River Basin Conservation Act,which reauthorized the System Conservation Pilot Program through 2024, was signed into law in the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus government funding bill. In 2023, the System Conservation Pilot Program received $125 million, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, to enable the Bureau of Reclamation, in partnership with the Upper Colorado River Commission, to implement the System Conservation Pilot Program.
The Bureau of Reclamation’s authorization to spend SCPP funds expired in December. In 2024, the Colorado River Basin System Conservation Extension Act passed the Senate, but stalled in the House. Funding for the program must be renewed in 2025 for it to continue.
As governor, Hickenlooper helped negotiate the 2019 Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency Plan, which helped protect critical levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead and ensured continued compliance with the 1922 Colorado River Compact.
Full text of the bill is available HERE.
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