System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP)

The System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP)

SCPP is an opportunity for temporary, voluntary, and compensated reduction in consumptive use (or depletion) of agricultural, municipal, or industrial water in the Upper Colorado River Basin. There is no target volume for conservation under SCPP.

SCPP is administered by the Upper Colorado River Commission in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico, and the Colorado River Authority of Utah facilitates SCPP in Utah. SCPP for 2023 and 2024 was funded by Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allocations to the Bureau of Reclamation.

SCPP is not Demand Management. An Upper Basin Demand Management Program is contemplated under the Demand Management Storage Agreement (DMSA) framework, which is part of the Upper Basin Drought Contingency Plans (DCP). Learn more here.

Utah is pursuing its own Utah Demand Management Pilot Program for 2025 and 2026. Learn more here.

Program Status

SCPP was authorized by Congress and implemented from 2015 to 2018 and again from 2023 to 2024. A bill to reauthorize the program was introduced in Congress on January 7, 2025, and has not yet passed. Federal funding availability is uncertain at this time.

If you would like to receive updates as they become available, email Lily Bosworth to be added to the SCPP emailing list.

Contacts

Colorado River Authority of Utah SCPP Coordinator:
- Lily Bosworth: (801) 824-9037 | [email protected]

Upper Colorado River Commission:
- SCPP-specific email: [email protected]

2023 and 2024 Outcomes

Upper Colorado River Commission SCPP 2024 Webpage

Upper Colorado River Commission SCPP 2023 Webpage

Upper Colorado River Commission SCPP 2023 Lessons Learned Summary

Upper Colorado River Commission SCPP 2015-2018 Webpage

FAQ's

SCPP is a voluntary program that compensates water users to reduce water use temporarily. It allows farmers and other water users to be part of the solution for sustainable water use in the Colorado River system without losing their water rights or livelihoods. This is not a “buy and dry” program intended to push people out of agriculture. Instead, the program provides water users with another tool to add additional value and flexibility to their operations.

Water users who are interested in participating would temporarily reduce consumption of historically beneficially used water and enroll conserved water in the SCPP program through a contract with the Upper Colorado River Commission. The Colorado River Authority of Utah will work with the Upper Colorado River Commission and project proponents throughout the proposal development, review, and agreement steps. Applicants are allowed to work with agents for additional support in the proposal process if they desire.

Transbasin water projects are eligible to submit proposals for this program. One key component will be to develop and describe an activity that results in demonstrable conserved consumptive use that can be verified, and is administrable by the State Engineer. Another key component for water users within a larger system/project is that it needs to be workable and acceptable to the entity(ies) that holds the water rights and distributes the water within that system.

The Upper Division States, through the UCRC, adopted the Upper Basin 5-Point Plan in July 2022 to address declining elevations in Lake Powell and to protect critical infrastructure and health and human safety. The re-initiation of the System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP) is an important component of the 5-Point Plan. It is one of the tools the Upper Basin can employ as part of its commitment to assist with the protection of the Colorado River System, provided that commensurate and substantial actions and water use reductions are made by Lower Basin entities.

System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP)

The System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP)

Program Status

Contacts

2023 and 2024 Outcomes

FAQ's

Why participate?

What types of projects are common for SCPP?

How will SCPP function for water users?

Will my water right be subject to abandonment if I participate?

Can I participate if I am a shareholder in a canal company?

How will the amount conserved be calculated - by the enrolled Historical Consumptive Use (HCU or depletion) amount, the diversion amount, the volume stored? Or other?

What precipitation data will be used to be subtracted from the eeMETRIC data? GridMet from OpenET or from local meteorological stations normalized to a growing season?

How is compensation determined?

Is the Application for the System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP) (2024) considered to be the same as the Proposal?

Can trans basin water users utilize this program?

Does a conservation effort weaken our negotiation powers with lower basin states? We are already not using our allowance, now we are saying we can use less?

Will the participants be expected to shepherd the water downstream?

Being a federal action, will the effects of this program need to be assessed through an EIS?