Resolution to Protect the Colorado River Sends Important Signal in New Era of Aridification

(LAS VEGAS, NV – Dec. 15, 2021) Arizona, Nevada, key California agencies under the Colorado River Board of California and conservation groups issued a resolution today outlining a commitment to seek effective solutions to challenges facing the Colorado River, including achieving new reductions in Lower Colorado River water use and taking steps to protect the long-term sustainability of the Colorado River Basin.

The resolution, unveiled at this year’s Colorado River Water Users Association Conference, acknowledges the impact of aridification on water supplies and the importance of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Colorado River for all parties. 

In response, the Water for Arizona Coalition issued the following statement: 

“This commitment to continued collaboration to protect and preserve the Colorado River is crucial as climate change fundamentally changes the basin. The Water for Arizona Coalition looks forward to helping develop and implement durable strategies to ensure water security for all Arizona communities and protect our life-giving rivers and freshwater ecosystems in the face of basin-wide aridification.”

Kevin Moran, chair of the Water for Arizona Coalition and senior director of EDF’s Colorado River Program, added, “This resolution is a recognition of the urgent need to increase both the pace and scale of collaborative water conservation agreements and investments in resilience. The next chapter in the Colorado River’s story can be about people adapting to new water realities collaboratively, equitably and quickly so that we sustain civilization and the natural systems that nourish all of us.”