ADWR Colorado River Management

Because the Colorado River is one of the few perennial water supplies for some of the hottest and most arid areas of the United States, its waters have been the subject of debate and competition for many years. The Colorado River provides water to over 30 million people and to nearly two million acres of farmland in Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. Hydroelectric plants on the river generate about 13 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Because the river is so vital to the economies of the southwestern United States and Mexico, it has become one of the most regulated and managed rivers in the United States.

Modern use of Colorado River water for irrigation began in the late 1800s when water was diverted for use in California’s Imperial Valley. By 1901 some 100,000 acres of farmland were irrigated with Colorado River water in the Imperial Valley. Competition for Colorado River water supplies has increased steadily in response to population growth. Competition for the supplies of the Colorado River has resulted in decades of political and legal confrontation and compromise. But even after Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to the apportionment of the river, this competition continues.

Arizona Large (over 100,000 acre-feet) Colorado River Entitlements
Name	Priority	Entitlement Acre-feet
Central Arizona Project	4th Priority	1,500,000 (approximately)
Colorado River Indian Reservation	1st Priority	662,402
Fort Mohave Indian Reservation	1st Priority	103,535
Yuma Mesa Division/Gila Project: North Gila Valley IDD Yuma ID Yuma Mesa IDD	Shared 3rd Priority	250,000
Wellton-Mohawk Division/Gila Project: Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District	3rd Priority	278,000
Valley Division/Yuma Project: Yuma County Water Users Association	1st & 3rd Priority	254,200 (or consumptive use for irrigation of 43,562 acres, whichever is less)

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