System Conservation Pilot Program
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This will be a topic of conversation in Wyoming office meetings.
Summary Statement:
The SCPP projects have shown that temporary, voluntary and compensated reductions in water use can benefit water users, streamflow and fishery habitat, and multiple benefits such as reservoir storage and levels — increasing system reliability and reducing interstate compact exposure and risks for all parties.
Please support and reauthorize this program.
The Issue:
- The Colorado River Basin is at risk because of long-term drought and current reservoir levels.
- Managing water demand and use has been identified as one of the key components of maintaining Colorado River flows and reservoir levels.
The Solution:
- The System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP) was launched to test the willingness of ranchers, farmers, and other water users to take part in voluntary, compensated reductions in water use.
- The SCPP demand management approach is a risk reduction tool, an alternative to permanent fallowing, meant to enhance and diversify agriculture operations, and not a tool to enable transfer of more water from agricultural water users.
- SCPP supports approaches to conserve water in ways that benefit the entire Colorado River system — a novel goal that reflects increased collaboration among all water use sectors.
- The SCPP pilots have shown that temporary, voluntary and compensated reductions in water use can benefit water users, streamflow and fishery habitat, and multiple benefits such as reservoir storage and levels — increasing system reliability and reducing interstate compact exposure and risks for all parties.
The “ask” on Capitol Hill:
The System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP) has created significant rancher and farmer interest in participating in demand reduction efforts, and has done so in a way that protects water rights, keeps water rights attached to the land, and incentivizes landowner participation.
The SCPP program needs additional funding for FY18 (appropriation) and the demand management needs long-term support (reauthorization) in order to solidify and maintain the developing water market and water user participation.
- The FY18 budget for the Bureau of Reclamation should include at least $10–15 million dollars for Upper Basin SCPP projects.
- Federal agencies should work with state water managers and water users to ensure long-term demand management tools like the SCPP are institutionalized and funded to provide certainty for willing participants and solidify a long-term drought contingency and management tool for the Colorado River Basin.
SCPP at a glance
- In 2015–16, the SCPP program conserved approximately 11,400 acre-feet (AF) of water via 32 projects.
- 75% of the water was conserved through temporary, split- or late-season fallowing (that is, ranchers and farmers irrigated for part but not all of the potential irrigation/production season).
- TU and its ag partners helped to conserve approximately 7,600 AF of those water savings.
- In 2016–17 round, water users submitted 47 applications for SCPP projects, with a potential 20,000 acre-feet of water savings in Wyoming alone.
- An acre-foot of water is equivalent to the amount that one suburban household consumes in a year.
To Learn More: Additional Background Links / Leave Behinds for meetings
- New TU website focused on TU-Agriculture partnerships and programs, including the SCPP (waterpartners.tu.org):
- Colorado System Conservation Pilot Project Report: four-page leave-behind glossy brochure that gives SCPP overview and case studies (also shown linked in summary, above).
- Cory Toye Blog re: SCPP Program in Wyoming
- Two Short videos that promote idea of demand reduction program and on-ranch + river benefits:
- No Time to Waste (https://vimeo.com/158682853)
2. Every Drop Counts (https://vimeo.com/151565949).
For questions, please contact the TU Government Affairs Team.
