The Bureau of Reclamation has released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
A Notice of Availability for this Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 31, 2026.
The Colorado River is considered a critical resource in the West, serving seven U.S. states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming—as well as Mexico.
The released documentation includes several volumes covering the purpose and need of the guidelines, descriptions of alternatives, and an analysis of the affected environment and environmental consequences. The materials also address consultation, coordination, and various technical appendices regarding hydrologic resources, water deliveries, and biological resources.
The process for the Post-2026 guidelines follows a previously published Draft EIS, which was made available in the Federal Register on January 16, 2026. For those seeking more information regarding the Post-2026 process, the Bureau of Reclamation has provided the email address crbpost2026@usbr.gov.
