California, however, has two powerful water agencies fighting over how to get the drought contingency plan approved before U.S. officials possibly impose their own rules for water going to California, Arizona and Nevada. The Metropolitan Water District is positioning itself to shoulder California’s entire water contribution, with its board voting Tuesday on a proposal to essentially write out of the drought plan another agency that gets more Colorado River water than anyone else. The Metropolitan Water District would have to provide what could be nearly 2 million acre-feet of water between 2020 and 2026. California isn’t required to contribute water under the drought plan unless Lake Mead drops to 1,045 feet (319 metres), which might not ever happen. Imperial can work on its own timeline for the salty lake because the drought plan isn’t expected to negatively affect it, Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said.

Source: National Post March 12, 2019 06:00 UTC