The Colorado River flows 1,450 miles from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California, delivering water to some 36 million people for agricultural, industrial, and municipal needs as well as supporting a booming recreation economy and amazing fish and wildlife habitat. It’s one of the hardest working rivers in the country and an icon of the Western landscape.

BUT TODAY, the Colorado Basin is facing a host of challenges, including increased water demands from growing cities, a changing climate of prolonged drought and decreased snowpack, and declining water levels in Lakes Powell and Mead that, if not checked, could trigger future water calls and conflict.

To meet these challenges, Trout Unlimited is working with agriculture producers across the Upper Colorado Basin to find pragmatic, creative solutions that enhance both farm and ranch operations and river flows and fish habitat. One of those solutions is an ambitious, basin-wide program to reduce demand for water.

System Conservations — a promising new water market for agriculture

In 2014, the Bureau of Reclamation, several municipal utilities and other river stakeholders launched an innovative pilot program—the System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP)—to test the willingness of landowners, ranchers, municipalities and other water users to take part in voluntary, compensated reductions in water use.

Trout Unlimited, building on years of earned trust with the farm and ranch community, has played a key role in enrolling agricultural producers in the program.

How SCPP works

Under SCPP, ranchers, landowners and others are paid for reducing water use through conservation practices such as switching to less water-intensive crops and reducing water applications (partial-season and deficit irrigation). These methods provide alternatives to permanent “buy and dry” of agricultural water rights.

Conserved water is left in the stream to flow down to storage reservoirs to benefit both water security and river health and habitat.

Conservation frees up water to help maintain reservoir levels and hydropower production. The long-term goal of SCPP is to bolster storage levels in Lake Powell to protect against loss of hydropower capacity and ensure the Upper Basin can meet its obligations to the Lower Basin under the 1922 Colorado River Compact.

The good news: agricultural producers are showing a strong interest in this market-based approach to water conservation—SCPP is creating an exciting new market for their water “crop.” The program also shows great promise in helping the overtaxed Colorado River meet the growing water needs of communities, businesses and agriculture. But the program needs sustainable support to help secure our water future. Learn more about the SCPP.