Alternatives Development

The Post-2026 process is a multi-year National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to determine long-term operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead after the expiration of existing operating agreements in 2026. The alternatives development phase of the process began in fall 2023 and will conclude at the end of 2024. The goal of this phase is to develop a broad range of reasonable alternatives for analysis in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

NEPA Alternatives

After collaborating extensively with our key partners and stakeholders during the NEPA “alternatives development phase,” Reclamation has developed the action alternatives intended to be carried forward for analysis in the DEIS. The alternatives represent a reasonable and broad range of alternatives.

Features of all action alternatives will ensure a broad range of alternatives for analysis. Reclamation's goal for the post-2026 process is to allow for the adoption of specific guidelines for the coordinated reservoir management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead through their full operating range and to provide for the sustainable management of the Colorado River system and its resources under a wide range of potential future system and hydrologic conditions.

An operating plan must be in place by August 2026. We are sharing the five alternatives now as a voluntary step in the NEPA process to enhance transparency and create a framework for a realistic and fair path for Colorado River Basin states, Tribes, and non-governmental organizations to continue to work toward a consensus agreement that protects the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System into the future.

Releasing the alternatives in advance of publishing the DEIS affords the public and affected water users more information about the process and provides greater opportunities for collaboration to ensure that we have a plan in place before the current guidelines expire.

The four action alternatives Reclamation intends to carry forward for analysis in the DEIS are:

• Alternative 1: Federal Authorities
• Alternative 2: Federal Authorities Hybrid
• Alternative 3: Cooperative Conservation
• Alternative 4: Basin Hybrid

The DEIS will also include a “No Action Alternative,” under which operations would revert to annual determinations announced through the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) process. A Preferred Alternative has not been identified at this time.

Additional information on the range of alternatives can be viewed in the below document:

Post-2026 Colorado River Operations EIS - Narrative of Alternatives

Alternatives Development Approach

Beginning in March 2024, proposed concepts for alternatives were submitted by Basin partners and stakeholders (submittals are posted below). Since that time, Reclamation has been working extensively with those entities to understand, gather additional information, refine, model, and perform preliminary analyses of their proposals as part of efforts to develop a reasonable and broad range of alternatives and to make progress towards building consensus-based, long-term, and sustainable river operations.

In June 2024, Reclamation extended the alternative development phase to focus on refining stakeholder input and exploring areas of overlap in attempts to make progress towards building a consensus-based, long-term, and sustainable river operations as well as developing additional alternatives to ensure a reasonable – and appropriately broad – range of alternatives are considered in the EIS. Between March and October 2024, Reclamation conducted over 60 meetings with states, Tribes, and other stakeholders to review and refine their proposals.

Central to Reclamation’s collaboration with entities on proposed alternative concepts is the development of a web-based Post-2026 Operations Exploration Web Tool. The tool is a result of decades of collaborative research and development and is designed to enable users with different levels of technical skill to explore, create, and compare potential operating strategies using a common platform to enhance the development of alternatives.

Received Alternatives Input

In early 2024, Reclamation received input from Basin partners and stakeholders with proposals and considerations for alternatives. Letters received are included below by date received and submitter.

• March 5, 2024 - Colorado River Upper Division State Representatives of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming
• March 6, 2024 - The Colorado River Basin States Representatives of Arizona, California, and Nevada
• March 6, 2024 - Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Southern Nevada Water Authority, and The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
• March 29, 2024 - National Audubon Society, Western Resource Advocates, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, American Rivers, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, and Trout Unlimited
• March 29, 2024 - Center for Colorado River Studies, Eric Kuhn, and Utton Center, University of New Mexico School of Law
• March 29, 2024 - Gila River Indian Community
• April 29, 2024 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service
• May 8, 2024 - City of Phoenix
• May 16, 2024 - Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Tonto Apache Tribe, Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni Tribe, Gila River Indian Community, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Ak Chin Indian Community, Ute Indian Tribe, Jicarilla Apache Nation, Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Chemehuevi Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, and Pasqua Yaqui Tribe
• June 3, 2024 - Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration, Colorado River Storage Project