Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming launched a program offering money to farmers and others willing to forgo their water use this year. But it didn't go as planned.
One way to save massive amounts of water from the
Most of those savings must come from Arizona and California, which use the vast majority of the river’s water, more than their allotment. But the System Conservation Pilot Program was meant as a way for upper-basin states to contribute water savings and help prop up sinking water levels at lakes Powell and Mead, the country’s two largest reservoirs.
A farmer growing corn will use a certain amount of water in a typical year. But if they’re willing to grow barley instead, which might use two-thirds as much water, the state could pay them for the difference they’ve saved. Or they could offer not to grow anything, saving more water and theoretically earning even more money from the program.
A similar program ran from 2015 to 2018 and handed out about $8.5 million acre-feet to volunteers, saving less than 50,000 acre-feet. Farmers need to buy fertilizer, seed and fuel for their equipment far in advance of when they start planting, Shawcroft noted. And by the time the pilot program began accepting applications, many had already made those purchases., more than almost anybody expected. Farmers who have been suffering extremely dry conditions in recent years can expect more water to grow their crops and many intend to, rather than selling their water rights for the year.
But the commission disagreed with his math, Harold said. Instead it insisted that the amount of water he’d save from the switch would be lower than he anticipated . He said the commission based that decision off his average water use over the last six years.“In the end it just didn’t make any sense for me to participate because it was either not financially viable or it just pissed me off philosophically as well,” Harold said.
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