Colorado River water cuts negotiations
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Nevada sues over federal Colorado River revival plan
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.
John Entsminger said the area has reduced consumption by roughly 40% while more than 800,000 residents moved into the area.
The lawsuit was filed in the US district court of Nevada against the Department of Interior and the US Bureau of Reclamation.
“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
California, Nevada and Arizona will collectively reduce Colorado River water use by 1.25 million acre-feet annually for the next two years.
JB Hamby is California's chief Colorado River negotiator.
Upstream states Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico do not face water cuts for now.
“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
The Department of the Interior plans to maintain water levels at Lake Powell at or above 3,510 feet.
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 announced a mandatory reduction of 1.25 million acre-feet of Colorado River water per year to Lower Basin states for 2027 and 2028.
“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,”