Upper Colorado News & Highlights

• News Release – April 4, 2024

  Biden-Harris Administration Announces $19 Million from Investing in America Agenda for Innovative Solar Panel Installation Over Canals
  Projects funded from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act will simultaneously generate renewable energy and increase water conservation

  WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior today announced a $19 million investment from President Biden's Investing in America agenda to install solar panels over irrigation canals in California, Oregon and Utah, simultaneously decreasing evaporation of critical water supplies and advancing clean energy goals. Read More 

• News Release – April 2, 2024

  Biden-Harris Administration Announces $320 Million for Tribal Domestic Water Infrastructure
  President Biden's Investing in America agenda to fund projects for Tribal households or communities that do not have reliable access to clean drinking water and other domestic water supplies

  WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced that up to $320 million is available under President Biden's Investing in America agenda through the Bureau of Reclamation to assist federally recognized Tribes and Tribal organizations as they plan and construct domestic water infrastructure. Read More 

• News Release – March 28, 2024

  Interior Department Announces $30 Million from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda for Water Savings in the Upper Colorado River Basin

  WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced that the Bureau of Reclamation has made $30 million available for 114 projects in the Upper Colorado River Basin through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which is delivering unprecedented resources to protect the Colorado River System. These projects will conserve about 66,400 acre-feet of Colorado River water in the Upper Basin as part of the Colorado River 2024 Conservation Pilot Program. Read More 

• News Release – March 27, 2024

  Biden-Harris Administration Announces $35 Million from Investing in America Agenda for Small Storage Projects in California and Utah
  Small surface and groundwater storage projects receiving funding through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strengthen existing water supplies and help combat drought in the West

  TOQUERVILLE, Utah – The Department of the Interior today announced a $35 million investment from President Biden's Investing in America agenda for six small surface and groundwater storage projects in California and Utah. The projects, each receiving funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will increase water supply reliability, improve operational flexibility community and landscape resilience to the effects of climate change. Read More 

• News Story – March 13, 2024

  Powering forward
  The Journey of Transformer Replacement at Glen Canyon Powerplant

  After more than 5 years of hands-on work, the transformer replacement project at Glen Canyon Dam is officially complete. The last of the generator step-up (GSU) transformers to be replaced became fully operational March 1. Read More 

• News Release – March 11, 2024

  President proposes $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2025 for Bureau of Reclamation
  Budget continues Reclamation's efforts to enhance water and hydropower reliability across the West

  WASHINGTON - President Biden today proposed a $1.6 billion gross discretionary fiscal year 2025 budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation. The budget builds on recent accomplishments and supports the Administration's goals of ensuring reliable and environmentally responsible delivery of water and power for farms, families, communities and industry, while providing tools to confront widening imbalances between supply and demand throughout the West. Read More 

• News Release – March 6, 2024

  Reclamation prepares for another below average runoff on the Rio Grande

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Water managers are expecting a low spring runoff this year on the Rio Grande after issuing the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) February streamflow forecast for El Vado Reservoir inflow for March to July, which predicts inflow at only 46% of median. Read More 

• News Release – March 5, 2024

  Biden-Harris Administration Announces Major Milestone to Protect Short-Term Stability of Colorado River Basin
  President Biden's Investing in America agenda has led to record water savings, helped stave off immediate collapse of Colorado River system Interior Department continues long-term planning with robust input from Basin States, Tribes and other parties

  WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration today announced a significant milestone in its efforts to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System and strengthen water security in the West. With historic water conservation enabled by President Biden's Investing in America agenda, the Administration has staved off the immediate possibility of the Colorado River System's reservoirs from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production. Due to record conservation investments as well as improved hydrology, Lake Mead levels today, at elevation 1075 feet, are the highest since May 2021, when they were at 1073 feet. Read More 

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