By Ryan Knappenberger – Cronkite NewsWASHINGTON – Experts say few Arizona residents will notice any immediate change to the availability of water in their daily lives after Jan. 1, when steep cuts will be imposed on the amount of water the state can draw from the Colorado River.
Those cuts would be in addition to reductions already imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the dams and the water that passes through them. But Reclamation has already called on the seven states in the Colorado River Basin to find an additional 2 million to 4 million acre-feet to cut in the coming years, as Lake Powell and Lake Mead fall to the lowest levels since they were filled.Campbell said that Phoenix is actively preparing for even the worst-case scenario, finding ways to continue providing water, but it will take some help from residents.
Noe Santos, the Bureau of Reclamation’s river operations manager for the Lower Colorado Basin, said the agency will begin releasing less water from the reservoirs in 2023. Most users will only feel the changes in winter and summer months, he said, when less water overall is pumped because agricultural demand is lower.
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