Amazon Leads Corporate Effort to Conserve Colorado River Water

Amazon has launched a major initiative to conserve water in the Colorado River Basin, investing $20 million into the effort. The program, called the Colorado River Basin Collaborative, is one of the largest corporate efforts for a single U.S. watershed. Participating companies, including Aldi and The Coca-Cola Foundation, plan to invest $100 million over the next two years.

The news comes as the federal government has announced that the Lower Colorado River Basin states will have to accept mandatory cuts to their shares of the river. In response, Nevada's water managers have filed a lawsuit against the federal government, saying it's unacceptable for them to assert a legal authority to slash the state's share by 71 percent.

Amazon's chief sustainability officer, Kara Hurst, said in a statement that the investment mirrors the company's collaborative approach through The Climate Pledge. 'We're bringing that same model to the Colorado River because water and climate are deeply connected,' she said.

The company is currently working on two projects: one with the Municipal Water District of Orange County in California, where Amazon will improve leak detection and fund repairs; and another with an agricultural technology company called Arable, helping Native American farmers in the Lower Colorado River Basin states with irrigation efficiency.