At a glance

The emergency drought plan signed Tuesday spells out an escalating series of voluntary water cuts aimed at protecting the river’s two largest reservoirs through 2026. Starting as early as January, Nevada, Arizona and, eventually, California will reduce their river use and leave more water in Lake Mead, while Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming will send more water downstream to prop up Lake Powell.

The overall plan requires federal legislation to be enacted.

Mexico will also make voluntary cuts under a separate agreement reached in 2017.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR NEVADA:

The Silver State has agreed to voluntary annual cuts, based on the water level in Lake Mead, that start at 8,000 acre-feet a year and increase to 10,000 acre-feet. That is enough water to supply roughly 20,000 average valley homes for a little over a year.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR VALLEY RESIDENTS:

Southern Nevada Water Authority officials have said local water customers won’t be affected by these cuts or other, mandatory ones that are expected in a shortage on the Colorado River. The valley has reduced its overall water use enough since 2002 to absorb any anticipated cuts. New infrastructure nearing completion at Lake Mead will allow the authority to keep delivering the community’s full allotment of river water no matter how low the lake gets. chose to participate in the final deal. But he stressed that the drought plan for the Colorado won’t take any water away from the Salton Sea.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the state’s largest municipal purveyor, has agreed to take on Imperial’s share of any drought cuts California might have to absorb.

In its statement Tuesday, the Southern Nevada Water Authority called Imperial’s stance “shortsighted, manipulative and simply not supported by any reasonable view of the facts.”

Headed for the Hill

The escalating series of voluntary cuts outlined in the drought plan are designed to slow the decline of Lakes Mead and Powell, which have seen their combined storage dip below 45 percent amid 20 years of record drought on the overtaxed Colorado.

Water users in Nevada and Arizona have been bracing for additional mandatory cuts next year, as Lake Mead shrinks toward the trigger point for a first-ever federal shortage declaration. Forecasters now expect the reservoir to stay safely above the shortage line for at least another year, thanks to above-average snowfall in the mountains that feed the river system.

The Las Vegas Valley draws about 90 percent of its water supply from the Colorado by way of Lake Mead.

It’s now up to Congress to finalize the drought plans so they can be enacted this year, something Burman is hopeful can be done swiftly.

She said hearings have already been scheduled in the House and Senate next week, as work starts to advance the necessary legislation.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @Refriedbrean on Twitter.