Colorado River water cuts negotiations
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Nevada sues over federal Colorado River revival plan
The Colorado River supplies 40 million people, dozens of tribes and 5.5 million acres of farm land across the American west.
Arizona has voiced strong objections to the federal plan and outlined in a letter how the state believes it violates the original Colorado River compact of 1922.
Nevada filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's Colorado River plan on Monday.
“By this September or October, there’s going to be a pretty compelling argument from the lower basin that the upper basin hasn’t met its delivery obligation,”
Federal cuts announced for Colorado River water allocations to southwestern states
Tom Buschatzke is the Arizona Department of Water Resources director.
The Colorado River serves as a water supply source to an estimated 35 million to 40 million people.
If the water in Lake Powell falls 33 more feet, the reservoir will no longer meet the water levels needed to generate hydroelectric power.
“We continue to see a prolonged drought in our future. So continuing to work together as a whole within the basin is going to be extremely important.”
Federal Government Mandates Colorado River Water Cuts for Southwest States
Under an agreement negotiated by Lower Basin states, proposed water reductions would allocate 760,000 acre-feet of cuts to Arizona, 440,000 acre-feet to California, and 50,000 acre-feet to Nevada.
The Department of the Interior plans to maintain water levels at Lake Powell at or above 3,510 feet.
The US Bureau of Reclamation released its proposal for a new Colorado River operating plan on a Friday ahead of the expiration of the previous framework.
“By this September or October, there’s going to be a pretty compelling argument from the lower basin that the upper basin hasn’t met its delivery obligation,”