"They said these "dirt-cheap" prices cost taxpayers, add to the strains on scarce water, and discourage conservation - even as the Colorado River's depleted reservoirs continue to decline. "Federal taxpayers have been subsidizing effectively free water for a very, very long time," said Noah Garrison, a researcher at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. "We can't address the growing water scarcity in the West while we continue to give that water away for free or close to it.""
"The researchers recommend the Trump administration start charging a "water reliability and security surcharge" on all Colorado River water as well as water from the canals of the Central Valley Project in California. That would encourage agencies and growers to conserve, they said, while generating hundreds of millions of dollars to repair aging and damaged canals and pay for projects such as new water recycling plants."
Federal wholesale water delivered through irrigation canals to large agricultural areas in California, Arizona and Nevada is priced far lower than water supplied to cities, and in some cases is provided at no cost. Large agricultural water agencies therefore pay only a fraction of urban rates. These low or zero prices shift costs to federal taxpayers, worsen pressure on scarce river and reservoir supplies, and reduce incentives for conservation as Colorado River reservoirs decline. Implementing a water reliability and security surcharge on Colorado River and Central Valley Project canal supplies could encourage conservation and generate funds for canal repairs and water recycling projects.
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