The current water year is shaping up to be one of the worst hydrologic years on record for the Colorado River Basin, with dangerously low snowpack, declining runoff, and growing pressure on already strained reservoirs. A broad coalition of agricultural organizations, water providers, Tribes, conservation groups, local governments, and infrastructure stakeholders has now called on Congress to act quickly to address the worsening crisis.
This week, the Family Farm Alliance joined dozens of organizations across the West in urging Congress to provide at least $2 billion in near-term drought mitigation funding for the Colorado River Basin. The coalition’s message is clear: infrastructure, conservation, and water supply reliability investments are needed now to help buffer worsening drought conditions and protect the communities, farms, and food systems that depend on the Colorado River.
For Western agriculture, the stakes could not be higher. Farmers and ranchers across the Basin are already facing mounting uncertainty tied to water deliveries, reservoir operations, hydropower reliability, and future water management decisions. Delaying action will only increase costs, deepen shortages, and force more disruptive emergency responses in the years ahead.
The requested federal funding would support practical, on-the-ground solutions, including agricultural efficiency projects, voluntary compensated conservation programs, reservoir reliability improvements, watershed and wildfire mitigation work, and strategic investments in additional water supply infrastructure where feasible. The Alliance continues to emphasize that long-term water security will require a balanced approach centered on new storage, modernized infrastructure, conservation, and operational flexibility.
Importantly, this effort reflects a rare alignment across historically divided interests in the Colorado River Basin. Agricultural producers, municipal water agencies, Tribal communities, conservation organizations, and business leaders are increasingly united around the need for immediate federal leadership and investment.
We continue to emphasize the urgent need for drought mitigation funding, expanded water infrastructure investment, and long-term solutions that keep Western agriculture viable while protecting the Colorado River system for future generations.