Five U.S. Bureau of Reclamation conservation agreements targeting California farmers were signed on Wednesday with a big intended impact. … The agreements involving the Imperial Irrigation District, Bard Water District and the Metropolitan Water District represent the last conservation efforts from “bucket one,” or the first round, of funding from Congress’ Inflation Reduction Act. Lake Mead, which provides about 90 percent of Southern Nevada’s drinking water, stands at around 1,063 feet as of September’s end — about 23 feet higher than the reservoir’s all-time low in 2022. [Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton] has cited aggressive conservation as a direct boost to Lake Mead’s outlook, though two heavy snowpack years in the Rocky Mountains have helped, as well. The Bureau of Reclamation predicts that the agreements will save 717,000 acre-feet of water in total. One acre-foot of water is roughly enough to serve two single-family homes for a year.

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