California and Nevada water agencies agree to water swap

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) have worked out a deal to send water to drought stricken California.

The agreement would have MWD pay $45 million for 150,000 acre-feet of water, enough to serve about 300,000 homes. The water will be sent from the Lake Mead reservoir.

“We’ll be trading dollars for water, and then back again,” Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of Metropolitan Water District told AP. “As a practical matter, we’ll use the water during drought and return it, bucket for bucket, when they need it.”

If the level of Lake Mead drops below 1,045 feet, California must return 75,000 acre-feet.

The district board is set to consider approving the deal next week.