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The Bureau of Reclamation's Upper Colorado and Lower Colorado Regions, in collaboration with representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin States (non-federal Cost Share Partners), submitted a Proposal in June 2009 to fund the "Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study" under Reclamation's Basin Study Program. In September 2009, the Study was selected for funding.

The Study, which began in January 2010, was completed in December 2012. It defines current and future imbalances in water supply and demand in the Colorado River Basin and the adjacent areas of the Basin States that receive Colorado River water for approximately the next 50 years, and develops and analyzes adaptation and mitigation strategies to resolve those imbalances.

The Study characterizes current and future water supply and demand imbalances in the Basin and assesses the risks to Basin resources. Resources include water allocations and deliveries consistent with the apportionments under the Law of the River; hydroelectric power generation; recreation; fish, wildlife, and their habitats (including candidate, threatened, and endangered species); water quality including salinity; flow- and water-dependent ecological systems; and flood control.

Additional information, questions, and/or comments on the Study may be directed to: