S.J.R. 3
- *SJR3*
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 3–
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
(ON BEHALF OF THE JOINT INTERIM STANDING
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES)
MARCH 6, 2023
____________
Referred to Committee on Natural Resources
SUMMARY—Urges the United States Bureau of Reclamation to
consider certain actions, alternatives and measures
for the protection and management of the Colorado
River. (BDR R-349)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: No.
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION—Urging the United States Bureau
of Reclamation to consider certain actions, alternatives
and measures for the protection and management of the
Colorado River.
WHEREAS, The Colorado River is the most vital water source in 1
Nevada and much of the western United States, sustaining the life 2
and livelihood of 7 western states, 22 Indian tribes and Mexico; and 3
WHEREAS, The Colorado River supports the needs of 40 million 4
people in the United States and Mexico, irrigates over 5 million 5
acres of land, generates hydropower for several million people and 6
supports recreational and tourism industries; and 7
WHEREAS, Ninety percent of Southern Nevada’s water supply 8
comes from the Colorado River via Lake Mead; and 9
WHEREAS, Facing unprecedented drought and aridification, the 10
Colorado River is in crisis with Lake Mead currently at 28 percent 11
capacity; and 12
WHEREAS, The Colorado River is also overallocated with more 13
water committed for use than is available from the Colorado River 14
– 2 –
- *SJR3*
in an average year resulting in a structural deficit in the Colorado 1
River; and 2
WHEREAS, The seven Colorado River Basin states of Arizona, 3
California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming 4
have yet to reach a consensus on a plan to decrease current water 5
use; and 6
WHEREAS, The Federal Government intends to take unilateral 7
action regarding the management of the Colorado River if the 8
Colorado River Basin states do not present a reasonable plan for 9
water management; and 10
WHEREAS, The Southern Nevada Water Authority and the 11
Colorado River Commission, on behalf of the State of Nevada, have 12
urged all users of the Colorado River in every state and sector to 13
work together towards a solution to the water crisis and to reduce 14
water demands to reflect the hydrological reality of the Colorado 15
River Basin; and 16
WHEREAS, In August 2022, the Southern Nevada Water 17
Authority, on behalf of the State of Nevada, submitted a letter to the 18
United States Bureau of Reclamation listing 12 recommendations to 19
address the crisis on the Colorado River, including adopting 20
methods to account for evaporation and system losses in the 21
Colorado River and investing in long-term, durable water 22
conservation to permanently reduce the structural deficit in the 23
Colorado River; and 24
WHEREAS, In November 2022, the United States Bureau of 25
Reclamation announced its intention to prepare a supplemental 26
environmental impact statement for the December 2007 Record of 27
Decision entitled “Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower 28
Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and 29
Lake Mead”; and 30
WHEREAS, In December 2022, the Southern Nevada Water 31
Authority and the Colorado River Commission, on behalf of the 32
State of Nevada, submitted a proposed alternative to the United 33
States Bureau of Reclamation for consideration in the supplemental 34
environmental impact statement process that presented 35
recommendations to address the structural deficit in the Colorado 36
River; and 37
WHEREAS, In January 2023, representatives of Nevada joined 38
with the representatives of five other Colorado River Basin states to 39
submit to the United States Bureau of Reclamation a Consensus-40
Based Modeling Alternative to help stabilize the water levels of 41
Lake Mead and Lake Powell and asked the Bureau to consider and 42
model the Consensus-Based Modeling Alternative in the 43
supplemental environmental impact statement process; and 44
– 3 –
- *SJR3*
WHEREAS, The recommendations of Nevada and the Consensus-1
Based Modeling Alternative to address the Colorado River crisis 2
present a solid starting point for further discussions on the 3
management of the Colorado River; and 4
WHEREAS, The current Colorado River crisis is dire but solvable 5
if the Colorado River Basin States, the Federal Government and 6
Mexico cooperate to address the crisis; and 7
WHEREAS, Federal money and other funding mechanisms can 8
aid with short-term water management and prevent the future 9
depletion of the already depleted Colorado River, but the long term 10
sustainability of the Colorado River system requires the investment 11
of additional money to implement permanent reductions in demand 12
for Colorado River water; now, therefore, be it 13
RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF 14
NEVADA, JOINTLY, That the members of the 82nd Session of the 15
Nevada Legislature strongly support the pursuit of a collaboration-16
based framework to address the structural deficit in the Colorado 17
River; and be it further 18
RESOLVED, That the members of the 82nd Session of the 19
Nevada Legislature support the inclusion of mechanisms to account 20
for evaporation and system losses in the Colorado River in the 21
future management of the Colorado River; and be it further 22
RESOLVED, That the members of the 82nd Session of the 23
Nevada Legislature hereby urge the United States Bureau of 24
Reclamation to amend existing federal regulations to prohibit the 25
inefficient delivery, application or use of any water from the 26
Colorado River by all sectors and users of water from the Colorado 27
River to limit unnecessary water losses on the Colorado River; and 28
be it further 29
RESOLVED, That the members of the 82nd Session of the 30
Nevada Legislature hereby urge the United States Bureau of 31
Reclamation to consider and model the Consensus-Based Modeling 32
Alternative submitted by Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, 33
Utah and Wyoming in the supplemental environmental impact 34
statement process; and be it further 35
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and 36
transmit a copy of this resolution to the United States Secretary of 37
the Interior, the United States Commissioner of the Bureau of 38
Reclamation and the Nevada Congressional Delegation; and be it 39
further 40
RESOLVED, That this resolution becomes effective upon 41
passage. 42
H