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The Trust Project

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References This article includes a list of source material, including documents and people, so you can follow the story further.
A graphic of two hands reaching up to catch water from a flowing spigot.
(Provided by Gigafact)

No.

The Colorado River accounts for approximately one-third of Southern California’s water supply, while the rest comes from Northern California and local sources. 

Most of what California draws from the Colorado River goes to crop irrigation. Drinking water is managed by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which brings water from the Colorado River through the Colorado River Aqueduct. The district serves about 18 million people, including Los Angeles and San Diego counties. 

The Colorado River Compact, a 1922 agreement that allocated the river’s water, lets California draw up to 4.4 million acre-feet per year. Colorado was allocated up to 3.85 million acre-feet. In all, the U.S. can draw up to 15 million acre-feet, and Mexico up to 1.5 million acre-feet. 

However, these allocations exceed the current annual water supply partly due to years of drought in the West. That means parties to the agreement receive less than their full allocation.  

See full source list below.

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The Colorado Sun partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

References:

Hear the experts give the real facts on California water, California governor’s office, Jan. 27, 2025. Source link.

The Colorado River, Public Policy Institute of California, November 2018. Source link.

Water Supply, Los Angeles County Public Works, accessed in January 2025. Source link.

40 million people share the shrinking Colorado River. Here’s how that water gets divvied up, The Colorado Sun, Aug. 14, 2023. Source link.

Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Por recently graduated from CU Boulder with a master’s degree in journalism and is interested in writing about the environment and exploring local stories. When not working on some form of writing, Por is either looking for Thai food or petting...