Join the Utah Rivers Council, Glen Canyon Institute, Great Basin Water Network, Living Rivers & the Colorado Riverkeeper, Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Los Angeles Waterkeeper in calling on the Department of Interior to eject the largest new proposed water diversion in the Colorado River Basin – the Lake Powell Pipeline – from continued environmental permitting. These nonprofit organizations, and many others, are concerned about the impact of this proposed water project on the Colorado River, its people, and the ecosystems the river supports.

The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the American West, and it is in crisis. Climate change has reduced Colorado River flows nearly 20 percent over the past 20+ years, draining reservoirs and creating a water shortage crisis the Bureau of Reclamation is scrambling to address. Millions of acre-feet of new water cuts are being proposed in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico to try and address the shortfall.

Despite this, the Bureau of Reclamation has been permitting the Lake Powell Pipeline since 2020, despite receiving thousands of comments and a letter from the other six states in the Colorado River Basin opposing the project. How can an agency call for millions of acre-feet of water cuts and simultaneously work to approve the largest new water diversion proposal in the basin?

Even proponents of the Lake Powell Pipeline – the Washington County Water District – have indicated no imminent need for the water project. The water district released a new water plan, which indicates the region could satisfy future water needs without any water from the pipeline for the next twenty years.

The ailing Colorado River cannot afford to have another massive water diversion further drain its already-declining water flows. The health of not just the Colorado River and the many ecosystems it supports is at stake here, but the livelihoods of millions of Americans in the Southwest. Now is not the time for any new water diversions on the Colorado River, especially a diversion of this magnitude. We need your voice! Urge the Bureau to eject the Lake Powell Pipeline from further consideration and end permitting on this project!