The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would receive $4 billion in drought funding from the Inflation Reduction Act that was recently passed by the U.S. Senate.
The money will be used to compensate farmers who voluntarily reduce their water deliveries from the Colorado River under short-term or multi-year agreements.
It’ll also conserve water in lakes Mead and Powell and mitigate the environmental effects of shrinking inland bodies of water like the Great Salt Lake and the Salton Sea.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly pushed for the provisions in the bill and says they give Arizona and Colorado River Basin states along with farmers, cities and tribes more tools to combat the western mega-drought.
The U.S. House of Representatives hasn't yet voted on the Inflation Reduction Act but is expected to pass the bill, which would send it to President Joe Biden's desk.