(IID General Manager Henry Martinez Issued a statement Monday Morning)....The Statement comments on the announcement made earlier in the day by the Colorado River Board of California.

It is in regards to the submittal of a Lower Basin Plan to Reclamation for analysis by representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin States. The Lower Basin Plan proposes to conserve 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River Water through 2026, with at least 1.5 million acre-feet of that total being conserved by the end of the calendar year 2024. In the IID statement; the Imperial Irrigation District is pleased that the Lower Basin States have come to a consensus with the development of a plan that is based on voluntary, achievable conservation volumes that will help protect critical Colorado River reservoir elevations, and in particular Lake Mead, which IID is reliant upon for 100% of the Imperial Valley's water supplies. Martinez said they they look forward to Reclamation fully analyzing the Lower Basin Plan as the preferred alternative for near term implementation, so that Basin wide discussions can pivot to post-2026 operational guidelines to address longer-term Colorado River system operations and the anticipated continued decline of the hydrology within the basin. JB Hamby, Chairman of the Colorado River Board of California and IID Board Vice President, said Monday that California and its partners in Arizona and Nevada have developed a plan that results in better protection for the Colorado River system than other action alternatives identified in the current Draft SEIS released last month by Reclamation. Hamby said the Lower Basin Plan will generate un precedented volumes of conservation that will build elevation of Lake Mead, make strategic use of the improved hydrology, and build upon partnerships within and among states, urban water agencies, agricultural irrigation districts, and Basin Tribes who rely upon and share the Colorado River. Under the plan, California will conserve 1.6 million acre-feet of water, with Arizona and Nevada conserving the balance of the 3 million acre-feet of voluntary conservation. The plan is endorsed by the Governors of California, Arizona and Nevada.