LOS ANGELES — California water districts are under growing pressure to shoulder substantial water cutbacks as the federal government pushes for urgent solutions to prevent the Colorado River's badly depleted reservoirs from reaching dangerously low levels.
California has the largest water entitlement of any state on the Colorado River, totaling 4.4 million acre-feet. The water flows to farmlands in the Imperial and Coachella valleys, and to cities from La Quinta to Los Angeles. Reducing the state's use of the river could involve expanding drought restrictions in cities, increasing incentives for property owners to remove grass, and paying farmers to cut the amount of water they use to irrigate their fields.
Managers of districts that rely on the Colorado River have been talking about how much water they may forgo. So far, they haven't publicly revealed how much they may commit to shore up the declining levels of Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir. But state and local water officials say there is widespread agreement on the need to reduce water use next year to address the shortfall.
