Can Southwest water agencies create a new market for desalinated and recycled water without building pipelines or altering Colorado River water rights?
With Interior’s final approval imminent, engineers and contractors face a basin operating at its physical limits—and a capital cycle that emergency releases cannot defer
Colorado River states approve emergency Flaming Gorge releases as Lake Powell nears hydropower thresholds, signaling deeper infrastructure constraints and looming capital investment decisions across the basin.
About $1 billion in federal funding distributed through the Interior Dept. will go toward rehabilitating canals, tunnels and storage systems across six Western states, but America's water infrastructure deficit continues widening faster than investment can close it.
Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison, Wis., mayor and chair of the 750-member Climate Mayors group, noted the Biden administration's 'historic climate investments,' including for desalination and water recycling in western states.
Corps, BuRec funds go for port, inland waterways, flood protection and rural projects to improve freight flow, provide climate change resilience and help disadvantaged communities.