This story was updated at 2:52 p.m. EDT.
The Interior Department on Wednesday finalized five conservation deals that aim to save nearly 234 billion gallons of water in the Colorado River Basin through 2026.
The Bureau of Reclamation announced it signed off on agreements with a trio of California water agencies — Imperial Irrigation District, Metropolitan Water District and Bard Water District — and multiple long-term deals with the Gila River Indian Community.
The deals are part of a short-term effort to reduce use in the Colorado River, which faced potentially catastrophic shortfalls in Lake Powell and Lake Mead in mid-2022 and forced the Biden administration to weigh emergency plans to ensure hydropower operations at the Glen Canyon and Hoover dams.
