Large farms in parts of the Colorado River Basin are paying little — and in some cases nothing — for federally supplied water, even as cities and residents are being asked to conserve, according to a new report.
The analysis from the Natural Resources Defense Council and UCLA examines federal water pricing in the Lower Colorado River Basin, which supplies major cities including Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles. The Colorado River system as a whole provides water to about 40 million people across the Mountain West and into Mexico.
The report finds that some large irrigation districts, which distribute water to large farms across thousands of acres, receive water from federal projects at prices far below what cities and households pay. Cities in the Lower Colorado River Basin, on average, pay more than $500 per acre-foot for water, while nearby irrigation districts tied to federal projects pay around $30 — or nothing at all.
“We can’t address growing water scarcity in the West while we’re still giving water away for free. That is a losing solution every day,” said Isabel Friedman with NRDC, one of the report’s authors.
Researchers say those pricing structures discourage conservation at a time when reservoirs such as Lake Mead and Lake Powell remain under strain after years of drought and rising temperatures.
The study argues that outdated federal water contracts and pricing policies shift costs onto taxpayers and local water agencies, while encouraging continued heavy use in some of the driest parts of the country.
“We are really setting ourselves up to pay huge costs in the future when we have to invest in new water sources, and when we have to make up for the decades of water mismanagement,” Friedman said.
The report urges Congress and federal water managers to overhaul decades-old water pricing, including adding a modest charge that reflects growing scarcity. The authors argue that even small price signals could reduce waste, fund long-delayed infrastructure repairs and help avoid far steeper costs as the West grows hotter and drier.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between KUNR, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
