Southern Nevada Water Authority The Colorado River and Nevada Association of California Water Agencies Fall 2010 Conference December 1, 2010.

Southern Nevada Water Authority

The Colorado River and Nevada

Association of California Water AgenciesFall 2010 Conference

December 1, 2010


Background:

Law of the River

Colorado River Hydrology


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Colorado River Basin

16.5 million acre-feet (maf) allocated annually

1.7 maf lost to evaporation annually

15.1 maf average annual “natural” inflow into Lake Powell over past 100 years

66% of average annual inflow to Lake Powell for last 9 years

Irrigates 3 million acres Serves about 30 million people

including Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, Albuquerque and San Diego areas

Southern Nevada Water AuthorityBeginning in 2000, severe drought conditions

began affecting the Colorado River Basin.

Fishing Dock at Lake Mead Marina - Nov. 2008


20102000Hoover Dam, Lake MeadHoover Dam, Lake Mead

Since that time, Lake Mead’s elevation

has dropped by more than 100 feet.


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Natural FlowColorado River at Lees Ferry - Water Year 1906 to 2010

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Water Year

An

nu

al F

low

(M

AF

)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Average 10-yr Average

Provisional data, subject to change Estimated values for 2008-2010


7

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

775 975 1175 1375 1575 1775 1975

Year

Lee

s F

err

y N

atu

ral F

low

(m

af)

Meko et al.

Annual Natural Flow at Lees FerryTree-ring Reconstruction (Meko et al., 2007)

25-Year Running Mean


Colorado River


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Colorado Resources Used to Meet Demands

Basic Apportionment

- 300,000 acre-feet for Nevada

Intentionally Created Unused Apportionment

- Water banking agreements with California and Arizona

Intentionally Created Surplus


Existing Law of the River Concerning Shortages


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Existing Law of the River Concerning Shortage

1944 Treaty between the United States and Mexico- In the event of extraordinary drought or serious accident to

the irrigation system in the United States, Mexico will be reduced in the same proportion as consumptive uses in the United States are reduced


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1964 U.S. Supreme Court Decree Arizona v. California, Article II(B)(3)

- If less than 7.5 million acre-feet is available, Secretary of the Interior will satisfy demands based on present perfected water rights regardless of state lines

- Anything remaining will be apportioned in accordance with the Boulder Canyon Project Act

- California will not receive more than 4.4 million acre-feet


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1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act

- When there is insufficient water to meet lower basin demands, Central Arizona Project shall be limited as to assure the availability of water for consumptive uses of present perfected rights

- Nevada shall not bear in shortages greater than it would have to before this Act

- Act does not affect relative priorities of water in CA, AZ, and NV that are senior to Central Arizona Project


2007 Interim Guidelines and Associated Agreements


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Background

In January 2001, the Secretary of the Interior adopted the Colorado River Interim Surplus Guidelines to identify the conditions that are used to determine the availability of surplus water for Arizona, California, and Nevada

Following the adoption of the Interim Surplus Guidelines, drought significantly reduced the storage levels in Lakes Powell and Mead


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Background

At that time, significant disagreements between the Upper and Lower Basins, as well as among the Lower Basin States included:

- 2005 Annual Operating Plan disagreement- Article II(B)(2) of the Decree in AZ v. CA (50/46/4)- Quantity and timing of shortages

In May 2005, the Secretary announced a process to develop Lower Basin shortage guidelines and explore management options for the operation of Lakes Powell and Mead, which began the initiation of a NEPA process


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Background In February 2006, the Seven States sent a Preliminary

Proposal to the Secretary regarding Colorado River interim operations in response to NEPA scoping

Preliminary proposal focused on four primary elements:- Modification and extension of Interim Surplus Guidelines- Coordinated reservoir operation between Lakes Powell and Mead- Quantified shortages in the Lower Basin based on Lake Mead water

elevations- Creation of Intentionally Created Surplus program (ICS)

Preliminary Proposal also attached a Draft Agreement among the Seven States

The Seven States’ Agreement designed a cooperative process to avoid conflicts between the states


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Background

In December of 2007 the Secretary of the Interior issued a Record of Decision for Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead and adopted all of the main components of the Basin States Proposal


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Intentionally Created Surplus (ICS)

Nevada can create and utilize Intentionally Created Surplus by conveying Nevada groundwater and water from the Virgin and Muddy Rivers through Lake Mead

The Shortage Sharing Agreement and Interim Guidelines provide that this water will be available during declared shortages as Developed Shortage Supply (DSS)


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Allows a water user to fallow water rights in tributaries that were in use prior to the effective date of the Boulder Canyon Project Act (1929)

- Water is transported through the Colorado River- Nevada has approximately 50,000 acre-feet within this

category on the Virgin and Muddy rivers (SNWA currently owns or controls about 30,000 acre-feet)

Can be taken during shortage (DSS)

Tributary Conservation


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Allows a water user to fund a system efficiency project that would conserve Colorado River water

Such projects include the Drop 2 Reservoir Project and the operation of the Yuma Desalting Plant

The project must increase the amount of water available in the U.S. and a portion of the saved water is credited to the user funding the project

Cannot be taken during shortage

System Efficiency Projects


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Drop 2 Reservoir ProjectSystem Efficiency ICS Project


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Drop 2 Reservoir Project

Design and construction cost originally estimated at $172 million (with 20% contingency, $206 million)

- $9.6 million has already been refunded to the states and additional refunds are expected as the project closes out

SNWA provided $114.66 million to fund the design, construction and operation of the Drop 2 reservoir and SNWA will receive up to 400,000 acre-feet of ICS credits

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District exercised their option to contribute $28.67 million each in return for 100,000 acre-feet each of ICS credits


First Fill – Drop 2 Reservoir

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Allows non-Colorado River system water to be conveyed through and diverted from system reservoirs

- Includes SNWA’s Coyote Spring groundwater rights that will be introduced into Lake Mead via the Muddy River (Currently 9,000 acre-feet)

Can be taken during shortage (DSS)

A pipeline has been constructed and water deliveries began in November 2010

Imported ICS


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Existing Law of the River concerning Surplus and Unused Water

1964 U.S. Supreme Court Decree Arizona v. California (2006 Consolidated Decree), Article II(B)(2)

- If more than 7.5 million acre-feet is available for consumptive use the Secretary of the Interior will apportion 50% to California, 46% to Arizona, and 4% to Nevada

1964 U.S. Supreme Court Decree Arizona v. California (2006 Consolidated Decree), Article II(B)(6)

- If, in one year, water apportioned for use in a State will not be consumed, the Secretary of the Interior may release the apportioned but unused water for consumptive use in other states

- No rights to recurrent use of the water shall accrue


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Existing Law of the River concerning Surplus and Unused Water

1999 Final Rule for Offstream Storage of Colorado River Water (43 CFR Part 414)

- Regulation promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior to establish a procedural framework for facilitating interstate off-stream banking transactions including a commitment by the Secretary to release Intentionally Created Unused Apportionment (ICUA) as a part of such transactions


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SNWA has entered into interstate water banking agreements with both California and Arizona

Agreements allow for SNWA to store water in California, and at a later date when SNWA needs the water, California will intentionally reduce their consumptive use below 4.4 MAF and the unused water will be directed to SNWA


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Interstate Water Banking Agreement with Arizona

Original agreement signed in 2001, amendments entered into in 2004 and 2009

Guaranteed 1.25 million acre-feet of credits for SNWA with return flow credits for an estimated diversion of 2.125 million acre-feet

Allowed Nevada to utilize Arizona bank to make up shortages, unless a shortage impacts Arizona municipalities, then Nevada will reduce recovery proportionally to Arizona’s municipal shortage

Established SNWA schedule to pay $330 million between 2005 and 2018

* AWBA has stored approximately 527,000 acre-feet of credits for SNWA


Unused Apportionment in 2010

Nevada is likely to have unused apportionment in 2010

On November 8, 2010, SNWA and the Metropolitan Water District of California submitted a letter to the Regional Director of the Lower Colorado River Region of the Bureau of Reclamation requesting this water be left in Lake Mead to benefit system storage and help delay the onset of shortages instead of being reallocated in accordance with Article II(B)(6)

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Conservation


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Southern Nevada recycles nearly every drop of water that is used indoors and receives return-flow credits for this water

Indoor Water Use


The Water Smart Landscapes Program rebates businesses and homeowners $1.50 for every

square-foot of turf removed and replaced with water efficient landscape.

Program Results• $164,700,000 rebated

148,353,000 square feet converted• 8 billion gallons saved annually

More than 41 billion gallons saved since inception


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1990 - 2008 Gallons Per Capita Per Day (GPCD) Water Usage

Water Conservation

347 344 339 337 329 327 329 322 317 315 315 318 314294

274 269 264255 249

199

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Previous Goal Attained: 250 GPCD by 2010

New Goal: 199 GPCD by 2035

2035


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0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Wate

r U

se (

Acr

e-f

eet)

270,000 265,000 265,000 265,000

325,000

278,000262,000

Water Conservation Achievements

Southern Nevada's annual water consumption decreased by approximately 20 billion gallons between 2002 and 2008, despite a

population increase of 400,000 during that span


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Meeting Future DemandsSummary of Projected Water Demands and Water Resources

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Wa

ter

De

ma

nd

s (

ac

re-f

ee

t)

Conservation

Colorado River and

Las Vegas Valley Groundwater

Future Resources to Full Consumption


Questions

Southern Nevada Water Authority The Colorado River and Nevada Association of California Water Agencies Fall 2010 Conference December 1, 2010.

Documents

availability of water

insufficient water

mead slide

surplus slide

availability of surplus

surplus ics nevada

reduced slide

basin states proposal