{"id":5047,"date":"2026-05-12T16:14:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T16:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5047"},"modified":"2026-05-12T16:14:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T16:14:29","slug":"california-nevada-and-arizona-announce-temporary-plan-to-save-water-from-the-colorado-river-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5047","title":{"rendered":"California, Nevada and Arizona announce temporary plan to save water from the Colorado River"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By DORANY PINEDA<\/strong><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Absent a longer term deal on how to share a key but dwindling water source in the U.S. West, three states say they\u2019ll cut back significantly to prop up reservoirs in a short-term agreement following the driest winter on record.<\/p>\n

Read more Learn more about our oceans for Mother Ocean Day, May 9<\/a><\/p>\n

Arizona, California and Nevada announced a this month to save up to 1 million acre-feet of Colorado River water through 2028. That\u2019s on top of cuts already announced by the three states and Mexico, bringing the total proposed savings to 3.2 million acre-feet, or about enough water to serve more than 25 million people a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have kind of a crisis situation that this past winter has created,\u201d Tom Buschatzke, Arizona\u2019s lead negotiator, said earlier this week. \u201cWe need to do everything we can, and that\u2019s what our plan does, to find a short-term fix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Already, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says it will release more water and earlier than usual into the badly depleted Lake Powell, one of the two biggest reservoirs on the river and in the country, to keep its hydropower humming.<\/p>\n

The plan from Arizona, California and Nevada needs approval from federal officials and state lawmakers. Still, the states called it ambitious and far-reaching with benefits to the entire river basin.<\/p>\n

The river supports 40 million people across seven U.S. states, two Mexican states and Native American tribes. Farmers rely on it, too, to irrigate millions of acres. And some 155 utilities depend on it for hydropower.<\/p>\n

Some of the rules that govern the water-sharing agreement expire this year, but negotiations have mostly broken down among the states. About four months have passed since they had any substantive talks. The states in the river\u2019s Upper Basin \u2014 Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico \u2014 have is needed. Meanwhile, the Reclamation Bureau is moving ahead with a plan in case the states don\u2019t reach consensus in time.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Kevin Moran, of the Environmental Defense Fund, said he\u2019s hopeful the water-reduction pledge is a catalyst for a collaborative solution among the states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Colorado River is tanking,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are at the 11th hour in needing to have strong and collaborative solutions to protect the health of the river.\u201d<\/p>\n

What cuts are on the table?<\/h4>\n

Nevada, Arizona and California make up the river\u2019s Lower Basin. Under their proposal, Nevada and Arizona would take about one-third less water of what they\u2019re entitled to annually from Lake Mead along the states\u2019 border. California, which has the largest and most senior rights to the water, would shrink its use by about 13%.<\/p>\n

How those cuts will trickle down hasn\u2019t been worked out, but the states say they\u2019ll come by August.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The Central Arizona Project manages much of Arizona\u2019s share that\u2019s delivered through a 336-mile (540-kilometer) canal system to 6 million people in central and southern Arizona. It, too, has a priority system. Farmers, cities, tribes and industry could be affected.<\/p>\n

Most of the river\u2019s water goes to agriculture. That\u2019s evident in the Imperial Irrigation District, the largest single user of the river\u2019s water, where much of the nation\u2019s winter vegetables are grown.<\/p>\n

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies water to 19 million people, relies on the river for about 20% of its supply. Reducing reliance on the Colorado River will stave off worse situations, said board member Mark Gold, but there\u2019s still a risk.<\/p>\n

Read more The possibility of a \u2018super\u2019 El Ni\u00f1o is starting to make coastal California nervous<\/a><\/p>\n

The Lower Basin plan also depends on state and federal funding. Among the water-saving measures could be farmers leaving fields dry or replacing thirsty crops like alfalfa with drought-tolerant ones.<\/p>\n

In cities, the reduced supply could contribute to higher water bills for residents and businesses, Gold said.<\/p>\n

Why is it being proposed now?<\/h4>\n

Chronic overuse, drought and rising temperatures linked to climate change mean there\u2019s less water in the river than what was divvied up among states more than 100 years ago.<\/p>\n

Lake Powell and Lake Mead, reservoirs that are key indicators of the river\u2019s health, are not healthy. Both have been declining over time. If they fall below certain levels, that means hydropower production comes to a halt and water can\u2019t be delivered to downstream users.<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Reclamation announced plans recently to release as much as one-third of the water in Flaming Gorge reservoir upstream of Lake Powell to ensure that doesn\u2019t happen. The hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam that holds back Lake Powell serves more than 350,000 homes.<\/p>\n

What happens next?<\/h4>\n

Reclamation officials said they are reviewing the Lower Basin\u2019s proposal while still emphasizing that they are looking for a broader agreement.<\/p>\n

Becky Mitchell, Colorado\u2019s lead negotiator, said the Lower Basin plan is a good first step but doesn\u2019t do enough to protect Lake Powell.<\/p>\n

The Upper Basin states want the Lower Basin states to commit to avoiding litigation, something that\u2019s unlikely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the Lower Division States have made progress, more is needed to protect the Colorado River System now and into the future,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cThese differences highlight the urgent need to come back together with the help of a mediator.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seven states are wrangling over who should reduce water use and by how much during a drought that\u2019s lasted more than two decades.<\/p>\n

Recently, Upper Basin states agreed to federal officials\u2019 plan to send nearly one-third of the states\u2019 annual water use to Flaming Gorge to protect Lake Powell. Water users with long-standing water rights are also cutting their water use earlier in the season than usual, with some only getting 14% or less of their annual allocations.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP\u2019s environmental coverage, visit https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/climate-and-environment<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Trump administration cancels rule that made conservation a \u2018use\u2019 of public lands<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The three states plan to save up to 1 million acre-feet of Colorado River water through 2028 to boost depleted reservoirs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia, Nevada and Arizona announce temporary plan to save water from the Colorado River - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5047\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California, Nevada and Arizona announce temporary plan to save water from the Colorado River - 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