The Fight Over the Colorado River How Nevada’s Water Conservation Policies Can Inform Basin-Wide Management Efforts

Abstract

This paper examines what other states in the Colorado River Basin can learn from Nevada’s water conservation efforts and policies to improve the overall conservation of the Colorado River and strengthen water allocations by analyzing Nevada’s water conservation efforts compared to other states in the Basin. The state of Nevada has been a leader in water conservation for decades despite having the smallest water allocation in the Colorado River basin. Nevada continues to surpass expectations with its comprehensive water conservation plan while the other six states in the Basin that lack similar plans could learn a lot from Nevada and use Nevada’s efforts as a baseline for future conservation strategy. Nevada has paved the way for the future of the Colorado River by covering all types of water use in policies and efforts, using a range of policy mechanisms, and utilizing stakeholder input during policy creation. With the last Basin guidelines published in 2007 and set to expire in 2026, there is a huge opportunity now to design a more adaptive and Basin-wide plan that incorporates climate science, equitable water distribution, and the voices of all affected community members.