Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River
2 years, 4 months ago

Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — Hydroelectric turbines may stop turning. People have “been hoping to stave off this day,” said Felicia Marcus, a former top water official in California, which holds the largest right to the river’s water. Entsminger and his counterparts in Arizona, Utah and California, as well as local officials in and around Phoenix, also repeated what has become a common refrain: They said they were gravely concerned about the river’s future, yet wanted to reassure their water users that the river won’t stop flowing imminently. “We won’t let this river die.” Upper basin states — Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming — argue that they shouldn’t face cuts because they historically haven’t used all the water they were promised a century ago. Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council, said many in the Rockies cling to an erroneous belief that their water rights are safe, cuts will continue to hit their downstream neighbors and one wet winter could reverse the river’s decline.

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History of this topic

Letters to the Editor: It’s time to build a water pipeline to supply the Colorado River
1 week, 4 days ago

Letters to the Editor: It’s time to build a water pipeline to supply the Colorado River

LA Times  

Tourists visit the Hoover Dam, which impounds the Colorado River to create Lake Mead, in Nevada in April 2023. Knowing the dire sense of urgency, we should at least consider — in lieu of toilet to tap, paying farmers to fallow their fields, sucking more groundwater out of sinking land and starting more water wars — a 1,000-mile water pipeline …

‘Zero progress’: Western states at impasse in talks on Colorado River water shortages
2 weeks ago

‘Zero progress’: Western states at impasse in talks on Colorado River water shortages

LA Times  

Seven Western states that depend on the Colorado River are ending the year at an impasse in negotiations over the writing of new rules for dealing with chronic water shortages. Representatives of California and other states who attended an annual Colorado River conference in Las Vegas last week said they remain deadlocked in their talks on long-term plans for reducing …

Biden administration urges states to move forward with Colorado River sharing agreement
1 month ago

Biden administration urges states to move forward with Colorado River sharing agreement

NPR  

Biden administration urges states to move forward with Colorado River sharing agreement The seven states that share the Colorado River have a 2026 deadline for a new sharing agreement. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The Biden administration this week urged the seven states that share the Colorado River to speed up negotiations over its future. HAGER: Biden's Interior Department wanted the states …

Feds outline ‘necessary steps’ for Colorado River agreement by 2026 but no recommendation yet
1 month ago

Feds outline ‘necessary steps’ for Colorado River agreement by 2026 but no recommendation yet

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — Federal water officials made public on Wednesday what they called “necessary steps” for seven states and multiple tribes that use Colorado River water and hydropower to meet an August 2026 deadline for deciding how to manage the waterway in the future. It would add delivery and storage for Powell and Mead, encourage conservation and agreements for water …

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will lose same amount of Colorado River water next year as in 2024
4 months, 1 week ago

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will lose same amount of Colorado River water next year as in 2024

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will continue to live with less water next year from the Colorado River after the U.S. government on Thursday announced water cuts that preserve the status quo. Officials do so based on water levels at Lake Mead, one of the river’s two main reservoirs that act as barometers of its health. Based on those …

As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans
4 months, 1 week ago

As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the Colorado River, the powerhouse of the U.S. West. In 2007, following years of drought, the seven U.S. states in the basin — Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — and the federal government …

A plan to replenish the Colorado River could mean dry alfalfa fields. And many farmers are for it
4 months, 4 weeks ago

A plan to replenish the Colorado River could mean dry alfalfa fields. And many farmers are for it

Associated Press  

A plan to help shore up the depleted Colorado River by cutting off water to alfalfa fields in California’s crop-rich Imperial Valley is finding support from the farmers who grow it. The idea to pay the farmers to halt irrigation arose last year as part of an agreement among Arizona, Nevada and California to aid the dwindling Colorado River, which …

California farmers set to cut use of Colorado River water, temporarily leaving fields dry
5 months, 1 week ago

California farmers set to cut use of Colorado River water, temporarily leaving fields dry

LA Times  

Welcome to Boiling Point. The Imperial Irrigation District delivers the single largest share of the Colorado River’s water to farmlands that produce hay for cattle as well as many of the country’s vegetables. Tina Shields, the district’s water manager, called it a “mini-fallowing program.” “The goal is to strengthen the Colorado River and ensure long-term viability and reliability,” Shields said. …

Indigenous nations approve historic water rights agreement with Arizona. It now goes to Congress
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Indigenous nations approve historic water rights agreement with Arizona. It now goes to Congress

LA Times  

Irene Yazzie can’t think of anyone who lives within 10 miles of her farm in the Navajo Nation who has drinking water flowing into their homes, hers included. In 2020, the Trump administration backed a deal between the Navajo Nation and Utah that settled all water rights claims in state and authorized about $220 million in federal funding to help …

Tribes say their future is at stake as they push for Congress to consider Colorado River settlement
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Tribes say their future is at stake as they push for Congress to consider Colorado River settlement

Associated Press  

Within the heart of the Navajo Nation and in the shadow of the sandstone arch that is the namesake of the tribal capital, a simple greeting and big smiles were shared over and over again Friday as tribal officials gathered: “Yá‘át’ééh abíní!” It was a good morning, indeed, for Navajo President Buu Nygren as he signed legislation in Window Rock, …

Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River water
7 months ago

Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River water

Associated Press  

The Navajo Nation Council has signed off on a proposed settlement that would ensure water rights for its tribe and two others in the drought-stricken Southwest — a deal that could become the most expensive enacted by Congress. Congress has enacted nearly three dozen tribal water rights settlements across the U.S. over the last four decades and federal negotiation teams …

Proposed settlement is first step in securing Colorado River water for 3 Native American tribes
7 months, 1 week ago

Proposed settlement is first step in securing Colorado River water for 3 Native American tribes

Associated Press  

LEUPP, Ariz. — A proposed water rights settlement for three Native American tribes that carries a price tag larger than any such agreement enacted by Congress has taken a major step forward with its introduction to the Navajo Nation Council. Nearly a third of homes in the Navajo Nation — spanning 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah …

Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River system
8 months, 1 week ago

Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River system

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Plumbing problems at the dam holding back the second-largest reservoir in the U.S. are spurring concerns about future water delivery issues to Southwestern states supplied by the Colorado River. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the major dams in the Colorado River system, is evaluating issues related to Glen Canyon Dam when Lake Powell reaches low levels. …

Damage found inside Glen Canyon Dam increases water risks on the Colorado River
8 months, 1 week ago

Damage found inside Glen Canyon Dam increases water risks on the Colorado River

LA Times  

Federal officials have discovered damage inside Glen Canyon Dam that could force limits on how much Colorado River water is released at low reservoir levels, raising risks the Southwest could face shortages that were previously unforeseen. “Because of the dam’s design, there are real structural risks under low elevations that could potentially leave stranded as much water in Lake Powell …

The Colorado River rarely reaches the sea. Here's why
8 months, 3 weeks ago

The Colorado River rarely reaches the sea. Here's why

NPR  

The Colorado River rarely reaches the sea. Sponsor Message Water for cattle-feed crops — alfalfa and other grasses — accounted for roughly one-third of the Colorado River's annual flow, the study found. A study published last year found that during the megadrought, human-caused global warming decreased the Colorado River's natural flow by roughly the amount of water that can be …

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing
9 months, 2 weeks ago

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing

NPR  

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Hager/KUNC Alex Hager/KUNC Ahead of a deadline next week, the seven states that share the Colorado River have revealed competing plans for how the river should be managed in the future. Reservoirs drying up Mitchell and her Upper Basin colleagues …

‘We can do better’: Western states divided over long-term plans for Colorado River water
9 months, 2 weeks ago

‘We can do better’: Western states divided over long-term plans for Colorado River water

LA Times  

With climate change compounding the strains on the Colorado River, seven Western states are starting to consider long-term plans for reducing water use to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching critically low levels in the years to come. In one camp, the three states in the river’s lower basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — say their approach would share …

States in Colorado River basin pitch new ways to absorb shortages but clash on the approach
9 months, 2 weeks ago

States in Colorado River basin pitch new ways to absorb shortages but clash on the approach

Associated Press  

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The seven U.S. states that draw water from the Colorado River basin are suggesting new ways to determine how the increasingly scarce resource is divvied up when the river can’t provide what it historically promised. The seven U.S. states that draw water from the Colorado River basin are suggesting new ways to determine how the increasingly …

Risks ease for Colorado River reservoirs after wet winter, but long-term challenges loom
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Risks ease for Colorado River reservoirs after wet winter, but long-term challenges loom

LA Times  

After a wet year and a push to conserve water in the Southwest, federal officials say the risk of the Colorado River’s reservoirs declining to critically low levels has substantially eased for the next couple of years. Touton called it a significant milestone, saying the Biden administration has successfully “staved off the immediate possibility of the Colorado River system’s reservoirs …

Climate change, cost and competition for water drive settlement over tribal rights to Colorado River
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Climate change, cost and competition for water drive settlement over tribal rights to Colorado River

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A Native American tribe with one of the largest outstanding claims to water in the Colorado River basin is closing in on a settlement with more than a dozen parties, putting it on a path to piping water to tens of thousands of tribal members in Arizona who still live without it. Negotiating terms outlined late Wednesday …

Western states are brawling over the Colorado River. That could spell trouble for Biden.
1 year ago

Western states are brawling over the Colorado River. That could spell trouble for Biden.

Politico  

“Ideally this is something that all seven basin states can come up with together. Now, the fight has shifted — pitting the lower river states of Arizona, California and Nevada against their upstream counterparts in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. That’s what the Supreme Court or Congress is to us,” said J.B. Hamby, California’s lead negotiator and a director …

California water agencies announce conservation plans to ease strains on Colorado River
1 year ago

California water agencies announce conservation plans to ease strains on Colorado River

LA Times  

The Biden administration has announced new water-saving agreements with California water agencies intended to shore up supplies on the overburdened Colorado River. California’s Colorado River Board said Wednesday that several water agencies and one tribal nation signed the first in a series of agreements that will conserve up to 1.6 million acre-feet of water. The latest agreements “represent another critical …

Federal officials say plan for water cuts from 3 Western states is enough to protect Colorado River
1 year, 1 month ago

Federal officials say plan for water cuts from 3 Western states is enough to protect Colorado River

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal officials said Wednesday that conditions have improved on the Colorado River to the point that a plan by California, Arizona and Nevada to voluntarily reduce water use should help keep the river basin on stable footing for the next few years. The U.S. Department of the Interior said in a statement that the risk of reaching …

Feds say Colorado River water cuts are sufficient to stave off immediate risks
1 year, 1 month ago

Feds say Colorado River water cuts are sufficient to stave off immediate risks

LA Times  

Current plans for reducing water use along the Colorado River should be sufficient to stave off the risk of reservoirs reaching critically low levels over the next three years, according to a new analysis by the federal government. Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said the ongoing conservation efforts by states in the Colorado River Basin have helped ease the immediate …

As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’
1 year, 3 months ago

As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’

LA Times  

John Weisheit, co-founder of the group Living Rivers, says the Colorado River should be restored to a more natural state by decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam. For years, environmentalists have argued that the Colorado River should be allowed to flow freely across the Utah-Arizona border, saying that letting water pass around Glen Canyon Dam — and draining the giant Lake Powell …

Western states will not lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, despite long-term challenges
1 year, 4 months ago

Western states will not lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, despite long-term challenges

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Federal officials said Tuesday they will ease water cuts for Western states reliant on the Colorado River in 2024, thanks to a slightly improved outlook, but long-term challenges remain. The tribe gets Colorado River water through the the same aqueduct system that delivers river water to Arizona’s major cities. One farming district in Arizona’s Pinal County outside of …

10 trillion gallons of water lost in Colorado River Basin due to rising temperatures: Report
1 year, 4 months ago

10 trillion gallons of water lost in Colorado River Basin due to rising temperatures: Report

Hindustan Times  

The harmful effects of global warming are being felt very starkly across the United States. According to a report published by CNN, the Colorado River Basin has lost more than 10 trillion gallons of water between 2000 and 2021 due to rising temperatures. Colorado River Notably, the Colorado River runs through seven Western states and provides water for drinking, irrigation …

Colorado River losing vast amounts of water due to warming climate, study finds
1 year, 4 months ago

Colorado River losing vast amounts of water due to warming climate, study finds

LA Times  

Children play on the shore of Lake Mead, near Las Vegas. “We’re going to continue to see reductions in runoff due to rising temperatures.” Average temperatures in the Colorado River Basin have already risen about 2.7 degrees, according to the study, which was published in the journal Water Resources Research. He called it “a wake-up call to the climate change …

Interior Department official with key role in Colorado River talks is stepping down
1 year, 5 months ago

Interior Department official with key role in Colorado River talks is stepping down

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — A senior Interior Department official who has had a key role in negotiations over the shrinking Colorado River plans to step down from the job next week. She played an important role in discussions between the federal government, seven U.S. states and Native American tribes that share the waters of the 1,450-mile Colorado River. Anne Castle, who held …

Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River water rights case
1 year, 6 months ago

Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River water rights case

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation on Thursday in a dispute involving water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. In 2003 the tribe sued the federal government, arguing it had failed to consider or protect the Navajo Nation’s water rights to the lower portion of the Colorado River. The Navajo have waited patiently for someone, anyone, to …

Tribes seek greater involvement in talks on Colorado River water crisis
1 year, 6 months ago

Tribes seek greater involvement in talks on Colorado River water crisis

LA Times  

The Colorado River cuts through Lees Ferry on the border of the Navajo Nation en route to the Grand Canyon. Lewis raised the concern at a conference in Boulder, Colo., this month, saying that as work begins on a post-2026 plan, “it’s no longer acceptable for the U.S. to meet with seven basin states separately, and then come to basin …

Feds announce start of public process to reshape key rules on Colorado River water use by 2027
1 year, 6 months ago

Feds announce start of public process to reshape key rules on Colorado River water use by 2027

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — A public process started Thursday to reshape the way Colorado River water is distributed, with federal officials promising to collect comments about updating and enacting rules in 2027 to continue providing hydropower, drinking water and irrigation to farms, cities and tribes in seven Western U.S. states and Mexico. Interior Department said it will publish in the Federal …

Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cuts
1 year, 7 months ago

Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cuts

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — Arizona, Nevada and California said Monday they’re willing to cut back on their use of the dwindling Colorado River in exchange for money from the federal government -- and to avoid forced cuts as drought threatens the key water supply for the U.S. West. Though adoption of the plan isn’t certain, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille …

Editorial: Colorado River water deal gives California another reprieve. For now
1 year, 7 months ago

Editorial: Colorado River water deal gives California another reprieve. For now

LA Times  

A “bathtub ring” displays the drop in water levels on Lake Mead, which provides much of Southern California’s water and is fed by a diminishing Colorado River. The real reckoning comes when operating agreements expire for Lake Mead, which feeds the Colorado’s water to Southern California and the two other lower-basin states, and Lake Powell, which regulates the flow into …

A breakthrough water sharing deal is announced by Colorado River states
1 year, 7 months ago

A breakthrough water sharing deal is announced by Colorado River states

NPR  

A breakthrough water sharing deal is announced by Colorado River states The White House and seven Western states have agreed to a framework for sharing the Colorado River's water. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: California, Arizona and Nevada are proposing new cutbacks to their use of the drought-stricken Colorado River to keep it from running dry. And those states' leaders have said …

Arizona, California and Nevada propose water cuts from Colorado River to avert forced cuts
1 year, 7 months ago

Arizona, California and Nevada propose water cuts from Colorado River to avert forced cuts

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use …

Breakthrough Colorado River deal reached, outlining big water cuts for three years
1 year, 7 months ago

Breakthrough Colorado River deal reached, outlining big water cuts for three years

LA Times  

A “bathtub ring” stands far above the waterline around Lake Powell on April 15. The consensus reached among the states will “protect the Colorado River system for the duration of the current guidelines,” said JB Hamby, chair of California’s Colorado River Board. Gavin Newsom said that California has “stepped up to make significant cuts to water usage,” and that the …

Half of US West out of drought, but not fully recovered
1 year, 7 months ago

Half of US West out of drought, but not fully recovered

Associated Press  

DENVER — Nearly half of the U.S. West has emerged from drought this spring, but the welcome wet conditions haven’t entirely replenished the region, scientists said Tuesday. Hydrologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said deep snowpack across much of the West will bring short-term relief, but the equally deep “bathtub rings” at Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs …

What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?
1 year, 8 months ago

What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration floated two ideas this week to reduce water usage from the dwindling Colorado River, which supplies 40 million people. Tuesday’s analysis from the Interior Department considers two ways to force cuts in the water supply for Arizona, Nevada and California: use the existing water priority system or the same percentage across the board. California is …

EXPLAINER: What might Colorado River cuts mean for states?
1 year, 8 months ago

EXPLAINER: What might Colorado River cuts mean for states?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Tuesday's analysis from the Interior …

US floats options to reduce water pulled from Colorado River
1 year, 8 months ago

US floats options to reduce water pulled from Colorado River

Associated Press  

BOULDER CITY, Nev. — The Biden administration released an environmental analysis Tuesday that outlined two ways that seven Western states and tribes reliant on the overtapped Colorado River could cut their use, but declined to publicly take a side on the best option. But Beaudreau said states, Native American tribes and other water users recognized that it would be in …

In Colorado River talks, still no agreement about water cuts
1 year, 8 months ago

In Colorado River talks, still no agreement about water cuts

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Federal government considers major water cuts to protect Colorado River
1 year, 8 months ago

Federal government considers major water cuts to protect Colorado River

LA Times  

The federal government on Tuesday laid out two options for preventing the Colorado River’s depleted reservoirs from falling to critically low levels, saying water cuts could be imposed across the Southwest by following the water-rights priority system or by using an across-the-board percentage. Under a second alternative, the Bureau of Reclamation would analyze the effects of reductions “distributed in the …

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water
1 year, 8 months ago

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — A Native American tribe in Arizona reached a deal Thursday with the U.S. government not to use some of its Colorado River water rights in return for $150 million and funding for a pipeline project. Officials termed it “compensated conservation.” It’s part of a broader effort to get states that rely on the Colorado River to substantially lessen …

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water
1 year, 8 months ago

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Officials termed it “compensated conservation.” …

Supreme Court seems split in Navajo Nation water rights case
1 year, 9 months ago

Supreme Court seems split in Navajo Nation water rights case

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed split Monday as it weighed a dispute involving the federal government and the Navajo Nation’s quest for water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. Justice Brett Kavanaugh also asked about the potential consequences of siding with the Navajo Nation, pointing to a brief that said more water for the tribe would necessarily mean less water …

Drought over? Spring outlook finds relief -- and flood risk
1 year, 9 months ago

Drought over? Spring outlook finds relief -- and flood risk

Associated Press  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Record snowfall and rain have helped to loosen drought’s grip on parts of the western U.S. as national forecasters and climate experts warned Thursday that some areas should expect more flooding as the snow begins to melt. Paul Miller, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, said that sounds like a lot …

Scientists: Largest US reservoirs moving in right direction
1 year, 9 months ago

Scientists: Largest US reservoirs moving in right direction

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “We’re definitely going in the right direction, but we …

In dry West, farmers balk at idling land to save water
1 year, 9 months ago

In dry West, farmers balk at idling land to save water

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Tom Brundy, an alfalfa grower in California’s Imperial Valley, thinks farmers reliant on the shrinking Colorado River can do more to save water and use it more efficiently. “Given the volume of water that is used by agriculture in the Colorado River system, you can’t stabilize the system without reductions in agriculture,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of the …

Editorial: An unfair plan to cut California’s use of Colorado River water
1 year, 9 months ago

Editorial: An unfair plan to cut California’s use of Colorado River water

LA Times  

The immediate question before the seven states that use rapidly vanishing Colorado River water is not how to renegotiate the century-old agreement and accompanying laws that divvy up the supply. The urgent question at present is what emergency steps the states must take in the interim to keep enough Colorado River water in two huge but dangerously depleted reservoirs to …

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