ASCE has honored Luis Huizar; Sarai Diaz; Kevin Lansey, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE; and Robert Arnold with the 2025 Wesley W. Horner Award for the paper “Economic Impacts of the 2019 Drought Contingency Plan in the Lower Colorado River Basin: Water, Energy, and Recreation,” Journal of Environmental Engineering, April 2024.
In the selected work the authors investigated the impact of climate change on the availability of Colorado River Water in the Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB) and hydroelectric power generation at Lakes Powell and Mead. Efforts to stabilize reservoir levels in the presence of interdecadal drought are based primarily on shortages in water deliveries to LCRB states and Mexico per the million 2007 Interim Guidelines (2007-IG) and later the LCRB Drought Contingency Plan (2019-DCP).
When climate changes are considered, the expected energy generation is expected to decrease. 2019-DCP shortages decrease cumulative water deliveries to the LCRB states and Mexico during 2022-2060, increasing evaporative losses from Lakes Mead and Powell.
The median difference in present value benefits under 2019-DCP compared with the 2017-IG is about +$100 million, but the full range of outcomes for all climate-related scenarios investigated is approximately ±$1 billion.
The Wesley W. Horner Award recognizes papers that have contributed to the areas of hydrology, urban drainage, or sewerage.
