The Bureau of Reclamation recently awarded $20.9 million to fund six salinity control projects in Colorado and Utah through its Basinwide and Basin States Salinity Control Programs. These projects will reduce the amount of salt in the Colorado River and its associated impacts in the basin.
This funding will prevent approximately 11,661 tons of salt each year from entering the Colorado River. Quantified economic damages due to salinity in Colorado River water is currently about $332 million per year in the United States. It is estimated that damages would increase to $631 million per year without the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control
