RIVERSIDE, CA – A new study from UC Riverside’s School of Public Policy concludes that agricultural conservation is the most economical strategy for preserving Colorado River water, outperforming infrastructure projects such as reservoirs, canals, and wells.

The analysis, led by graduate student Paloma Avila and conducted in partnership with the Utah Rivers Council, evaluated 462 federally funded water conservation and supply projects from 2004 to 2024. The projects totaled roughly $1 billion in 2023 constant dollars, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
The study found that agricultural conservation programs cost as little as $69.89 per acre-foot of water saved, while infrastructure supply efforts averaged more than $2,000 per acre-foot. An acre-foot equates to approximately 325,851 gallons of water—enough to cover an acre of land one foot deep.
“It’s important to understand where investments in conservation are being made across the Colorado River Basin and to evaluate their effectiveness,” Avila stated.
According to the report, 80 percent of water from the Colorado River is used by agriculture. Co-author and UCR assistant professor Mehdi Nemati said this is where the largest and most cost-effective savings are achieved.
In regions such as California’s Palo Verde Valley and parts of Arizona, federal programs have paid farmers to leave alfalfa fields fallow or adopt methods like deficit irrigation and drip systems, which reduce water use while maintaining productivity.
The Colorado River supports agricultural operations across seven U.S. states and supplies water to as many as 35 million people, underscoring the national implications of the study’s findings.
