River Stakeholders
California's Colorado River Water Use Highlights:
California's Colorado River Water Use:
California continued to demonstrate in 2025 its commitment to building a more sustainable Colorado River by reducing water use on farms and in cities, investing in new local water supplies and working to forge long-term agreements for future river operations.
By the end of the year, California is expected to conserve more than 600,000 acre-feet of water for the benefit of the Colorado River system. When combined with the 1.2 million acre-feet of system water conserved by the state in 2023 and 2024, California will not only exceed its 2023 commitment to leave 1.6 million acre-feet in Lake Mead by 2026, it will surpass that goal a year early. This water savings – California’s portion of the Lower Basin’s commitment to conserve 3 million acre-feet – has helped reduce future risks to Lake Mead after it reached record low elevations three years ago.
This exemplary conservation was made possible through partnerships and collaboration developed across the state between urban and agricultural water agencies and with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Additional system water savings beyond California’s 1.6 million acre-feet commitment are expected next year.
With Lake Mead out of immediate jeopardy, Colorado River water users in California focused in 2025 on building solutions for post-2026 river operations. The state remains committed to doing its part to ensure a sustainable Colorado River long into the future.
In March, the Colorado River Board of California named Jessica Neuwerth as its new executive director. Neuwerth previously served as the agency’s deputy director and acting executive director.
Imperial Irrigation District
Imperial Irrigation District anticipates reaching its highest ever annual water conservation yield in 2025, with about 700,000 acre-feet in total water conserved through various programs and partnerships. These conservation efforts, which support Southern California water supply resiliency and build elevation at Lake Mead, have resulted in at least a 22 percent reduction in IID’s consumptive use.
More than 260,000 acre-feet of IID’s 2025 water savings is anticipated to be funded by Reclamation and will help California meet its system water conservation commitments. IID’s conservation success is due in large part to outstanding grower participation in its voluntary deficit irrigation and on-farm efficiency conservation programs. These short-term conservation efforts include an extensive drain water monitoring program implemented by IID, and federal investment of $250 million in the expansion of California’s Salton Sea Management Program Species Conservation Habitat project.
In total, from 2023-2026, IID will have generated over 800,000 acre-feet of conserved system water for Lake Mead – the largest conserved water contribution on the river. This is enough water to increase Lake Mead’s elevation by over 11 feet. And, when combined with water savings from its Lower Basin partners, it will add about 50 feet to the reservoir.
Palo Verde Irrigation District
As part of its effort to stabilize the Colorado River system, the Palo Verde Irrigation District, in partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, in 2025 established an $8 million Community Improvement Program to offset socioeconomic impacts associated with large-scale agricultural land fallowing in the Palo Verde Valley. Under an agreement with Reclamation and Metropolitan, PVID growers are fallowing 26,000 acres – 28% of valley farmland – for three years starting in August 2023, generating 117,000 acre-feet of conserved water annually toward California’s 1.6 million acre-foot system conservation contribution.
The new community fund – jointly administered by PVID and Metropolitan – will support local infrastructure, public services, workforce development, and small business growth in the Palo Verde Valley. This program builds upon a prior community investment framework initiated in 2007 and reflects a coordinated approach to balancing system-level water savings with local economic sustainability in frontline agricultural regions.
Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe
In 2025, the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe continued to leverage its strong partnerships to improve the efficiency and resilience of its water use and management, while also conducting ecosystem restoration.
In conjunction with Metropolitan and Reclamation, the Tribe conserved 13,000 acre-feet of water to bolster elevations in Lake Mead, and contributed additional water savings through its ongoing seasonal fallowing agreement with Metropolitan.
Working with the Bard Water District, BlueCommons, and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the Tribe also secured the lining of the Reservation Main Canal, reducing seepage and improving efficiency for water deliveries to large portions of the Yuma Project Reservation Division. And with support from the Walton Family Foundation, the Tribe was able to expand its water management department to build additional internal capacity.
Coachella Valley Water District
Coachella Valley Water District also continued to conserve water for the benefit of the Colorado River system by curtailing replenishment at its Thomas E. Levy Facility from 2023–2025, saving approximately 35,000 acre-feet annually. A second voluntary program also continues for agricultural customers to conserve up to 10,000 acre-feet a year.
In addition, CVWD received a $39 million Reclamation grant to expand its Thermal Water Reclamation Plant for tertiary treatment. The funding supports Phase 1 of the expansion, allowing the agency to supplement Colorado River water with recycled water for agricultural irrigation. The project is expected to conserve 33,600 acre-feet of water from 2029 to 2059.
In October 2024, CVWD began implementing SpryPoint, a cloud-based utility billing and customer information platform that will enhance customer service, streamline operations, and support Colorado River water customers. The system enables realtime data collection, advanced reporting, and analytics to improve decision-making and service responsiveness and is scheduled to go live in September 2026.
Bard Water District
Bard Water District in 2025 continued its seasonal land fallowing agreement with Reclamation and Metropolitan, also part of the federal short-term system conservation program. Under the agreement, which is based on an earlier program with Metropolitan, growers forgo planting lower-value, water intensive crops during the summer in exchange for financial incentives, while continuing to grow their higher-value winter vegetable crops. The program is expected to conserve nearly 9,300 acre-feet in 2025.
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Metropolitan Water District’s investments in water efficiency and local supplies continued to produce results in 2025. Per person potable water use in urban Southern California has dropped a record 45% since 1990, the agency announced this year.
This efficiency will continue as the agency in September doubled its turf rebate for businesses and institutions that replace their grass with more sustainable landscaping. The new $7 per square foot rebate – the highest ever offered regionwide – will help businesses, schools, HOAs and other institutions comply with a new state law prohibiting the use of potable water on nonfunctional turf. The increased rebate is made possible in part through $96 million in funding from Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program.
Reclamation has also granted Metropolitan up to $82 million in funding for the High Desert Water Bank, a groundwater storage project being developed in partnership with the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, and up to $8 million for a program to detect and repair leaks in disadvantaged communities.
In exchange for the funding of these three programs, Metropolitan will add up to 269,000 acre-feet of conserved water to Lake Mead by 2031.
Shivaji Deshmukh was named Metropolitan’s next general manager and will assume the position on Jan. 1, 2026. He joined Metropolitan as general manager-designate on Nov. 3 after six years as general manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, one of Metropolitan’s 26 member agencies. Deshmukh is also president-elect of the WateReuse California Board of Trustees and serves on the US Water Alliance Board of Directors. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from UCLA.