Colorado's Water Conservation Program Proven to be Ineffective, Yet Plans to Expand in 2024

In a move that many are criticizing as a futile attempt, Colorado River officials have announced plans to expand a conservation program next year that pays farmers and ranchers to use less water. However, there are still concerns about the proposed changes and the overall effectiveness of the program.

Launched in 2015 as part of a multistate effort to conserve water from the Colorado River, the System Conservation Pilot Program has been a complete failure. It aimed to stabilize water levels in critical reservoirs, but years later, the program has been unable to make any significant impact.

Colorado Water Conservation Board Director Lauren Ris admitted during a recent conference that "there have been some challenges" with the program. This is a major understatement considering the millions of dollars that have been spent on the project with little to no results.

But that's not stopping Colorado from planning to expand the program in 2024. This expansion would include making it easier for farmers and ranchers to apply for the program, creating a "transparent pricing mechanism," and encouraging the use of new technology solutions. It's clear the state is grasping at straws in an attempt to preserve water resources for over 40 million people across multiple states.

But Colorado forgets to mention, in the first three years of the program, Colorado spent $8.5 million to only conserve 47,200 acre-feet of water, at a cost of $180 per acre-foot. This is a drop in the bucket compared to the billions needed to affect the river's falling water levels.

The program has also been plagued with delays and setbacks, going "dark" for years before being resurrected in 2022. And even then, it was only because the federal government threatened to drastically cut back water usage if the states didn't figure out a solution.

Now, with the federal government allocating up to $125 million for the Upper Basin states to spend on water conservation efforts, Colorado sees yet another opportunity to throw money at a program that hasn't worked in the past. As of now, the program has only conserved a total of 38,000 acre-feet of water, with a measly 22 projects in Colorado conserving just 2,500 acre-feet. These are hardly impressive numbers, yet the state is eager to throw more money at the problem.

To make matters worse, some of the proposed changes to the program, such as the transparent pricing mechanism, could end up costing the state even more money. And with more focus on incorporating technology rather than on-the-ground solutions, the program seems doomed to fail once again.

At the end of the day, it's those in rural communities and underserved areas that will be most impacted by this failed program. But as Central Arizona Water Conservation Board member Ylenia Aguilar pointed out, these vulnerable communities are often overlooked in the decision making process.

Colorado claims to be in a unique position to drive change as a "headwater state," but in reality, they are falling short in their responsibilities. Instead of focusing on long-term solutions to the issue of declining water levels, they are throwing money at a program that has already proven to be ineffective.