Alliance for Water Efficiency Urges Strong Federal Commitment to Colorado River Demand Management

With the seven Colorado River Basin (CRB) states recently missing a federal deadline to agree on a long-term water-sharing agreement, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is preparing its own plan through a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process for the “Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.” Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) recently submitted comments to Reclamation, which are summarized here.

As the CRB faces declining supplies driven by climate change and long-term aridification, the decisions made in this process will help shape the region’s water future for decades. While the Draft EIS focuses heavily on shortage allocation and reservoir operations, it does not sufficiently address how the basin will achieve the large-scale reductions in water use necessary to close the structural deficit and eliminate chronic over-allocation.

AWE believes durable stability on the Colorado River will require a comprehensive federal commitment to demand management based on the following five key principles — grounded in water efficiency, conservation, and reuse — in addition to local and state actions.

1. Prioritize Efficiency and Conservation
2. Invest Federal Funding in Demand Management
3. Do Not Weaken Federal Water Efficiency Standards
4. Preserve State Authority to Lead
5. Sustain ENERGY STAR and WaterSense

Prioritize Efficiency and Conservation

Reclamation has indicated that basin-wide water use may need to decline by as much as one-third in the near term to stabilize operations at Lakes Powell and Mead. Reductions of this magnitude cannot be achieved through reservoir management alone.

There are few viable new supply options remaining in the CRB beyond water recycling — and most supply-side projects are expensive, energy-intensive, and slow to implement. By contrast, water efficiency and conservation programs can deliver measurable savings quickly and cost-effectively. In most cases, it is less expensive to save a gallon of water than to develop a new gallon of supply. Scaling up proven conservation strategies — supported by sustained federal investment — represents one of the fastest, least disruptive pathways to meaningful, long-term water savings.

Invest Federal Funding in Demand Management

Since the 1990s, federal support for water infrastructure has shifted from significant grant support to low-interest loans, leaving local communities and ratepayers responsible for roughly 95 percent of system costs. Recent federal investments through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act strengthened programs such as WaterSMART and provided more than $4 billion for western drought mitigation. These funds delivered measurable water savings across the basin through conservation, efficiency, and reuse projects.

However, much of this enhanced funding has not been renewed by Congress.

Billions have been invested to supply water for communities, farms, and industries in the arid CRB. Addressing long-term scarcity will require comparable investment in reducing demand. AWE is urging the Trump Administration and Congress to commit sustained federal resources to water conservation, efficiency, and reuse strategies at the scale necessary to match hydrologic realities.

Do Not Weaken Federal Water Efficiency Standards

Many metropolitan areas in the CRB have experienced substantial population growth with limited increases, or even decreases, in total water use. This achievement is due in large part to federal water efficiency standards for plumbing fixtures and appliances combined with local conservation programs.

In 2024 alone, an analysis by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that federal efficiency standards reduced utility bills by $105 billion, saved the typical household $576, and conserved 1.7 trillion gallons of water — roughly 12 percent of total U.S. public water supply withdrawals in 2015.

Unfortunately, the Department of Energy has proposed rolling back efficiency standards for multiple products, and congressional legislation has been introduced that would do the same. As utilities and local governments promote water-efficient products and offer rebates to accelerate adoption, weakening standards would allow high-flow fixtures back into the marketplace and undermine Reclamation’s goal of reducing CRB water use. Preserving strong national efficiency standards is essential to maintaining long-term water savings in the basin and across the country.

Preserve State Authority to Lead

Eighteen states — including California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah — have adopted water efficiency standards or building codes that exceed federal minimum requirements and align with WaterSense specifications or California performance requirements. Products meeting these state standards save water and are widely available, competitively priced, and proven to perform well, and they often end up on store shelves in neighboring CRB states.

State authority has long served as a complement to federal standards, enabling tailored local solutions while accelerating nationwide adoption of high-performing, water-efficient products. Restricting states from adopting stronger standards would significantly undermine water savings in the CRB and beyond. AWE urges federal policymakers to preserve state authority as an essential component of national water efficiency policy.

Sustain ENERGY STAR and WaterSense

Voluntary labeling programs such as ENERGY STAR and WaterSense play a critical role in helping consumers and businesses identify high-efficiency appliances and plumbing products. These programs have delivered substantial water and energy savings while lowering utility bills for households and businesses.

Both programs have long enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress and broad backing from utilities, manufacturers, and industry associations. However, media reports and public statements from the Trump Administration have suggested one or both programs could be weakened or even eliminated. Thankfully, Congress voted to sustain funding for both programs in 2026. Stable, long-term funding for ENERGY STAR and WaterSense ensures continued market transformation and sustained water savings throughout the CRB.

The Path Forward

AWE encourages Reclamation and the seven basin states to reach an agreement that secures durable, long-term reductions in water use aligned with the declining supplies of the CRB, driven by climate change, aridification, and related pressures.

The Colorado River Basin’s future depends not only on how shortages are allocated, but on how effectively we reduce demand. Achieving durable stability requires a comprehensive federal commitment to CRB demand management that complements local and state actions. AWE stands ready to work with federal agencies, states, utilities, and stakeholders to secure a resilient water future for the basin and the nation.