Interior signs 2027 to 2036 Colorado River operating rules; Lower Basin loses 1.25 million acre feet next year
Reclamation issued the Record of Decision for post-2026 Colorado River operations on August 21, 2026. For 2027, Lower Basin deliveries fall by 1.25 million acre feet: Arizona 760,000, California 440,000, Nevada 50,000.
- 2027 Lower Basin reduction
- 1.25 million AF
- Arizona share
- 760,000 AF
- California share
- 440,000 AF
- Framework term
- 2027 to 2036
What happened
The Bureau of Reclamation signed a Record of Decision on August 21, 2026 adopting a decision framework for coordinated operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead from 2027 through 2036, replacing the 2007 Interim Guidelines and 2019 Drought Contingency Plans that expire at the end of this year. A Final Environmental Impact Statement preceded it on July 31.
The framework allows annual Powell releases between 5.0 and 12.0 million acre feetAcre foot (AF)The standard unit of western water: 325,851 gallons, the volume covering one acre of land one foot deep. Equal to 43,560 cubic feet or about 7,758 oilfield barrels., a Lower Basin shortage allowance up to 3.0 million acre feet, and conserved-water storage capacity of 8.0 million acre feet in Powell and 3.0 million in Mead. For 2027 specifically, Lower Basin deliveries are reduced by 1.25 million acre feet: Arizona 760,000, California 440,000, and Nevada 50,000, alongside at least 700,000 acre feet of voluntary conservation over the two-year period.
What it means if you own water here
This is the largest scheduled Lower Basin cut in the river’s history, and it lands on a system already at 32 percent of capacity. Every acre foot of conserved or leased water in Arizona, Nevada, and southern California just became more valuable to the entities that have to absorb these reductions.
For owners of senior rights, contract water, or storage credits in the Lower Basin, the practical question is who in your service area is now short and what they will pay to close the gap. Reclamation’s own conservation payment schedule ($330 to $400 per acre foot by term) is the public floor for that conversation.
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