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Colorado River Deal Adds Mexico to Growing List of Water Cuts
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, National

Colorado River Deal Adds Mexico to Growing List of Water Cuts

By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun The deal, which comes on the heels of big water cuts for three Western states, includes more cuts for Mexico. Officials from the United States and Mexico announced Wednesday a Colorado River water-sharing deal for the next two years as the basin continues to be overstressed by prolonged drought. The short-term deal, formally known as Minute 334, calls for Mexico to cut 250,000 acre-feet, or more than 100,000 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of water, in both 2027 and 2028. It also establishes an environmental work group and a pilot program to manage the salinity of Colorado River water as it reaches Mexico. “This Minute makes sure water is shared fairly among our users and protects the health of the Colorado River during...
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Walcher: The way out of the Colorado River crisis is abundance not subtraction
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, National

Walcher: The way out of the Colorado River crisis is abundance not subtraction

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com John Wesley Powell, the 19th Century Colorado River explorer, long-time head of the U.S. Geological Survey, and one-armed veteran of the Battle of Shiloh, published one of the earliest analyses of the American Southwest in 1879, called “Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States.” He may have been the first to figure out that the limiting factor for settlement and growth in the West would never be land, but always water. It would be just as prescient if written last week. As he predicted, the modern prosperity of the West is built entirely on dams, canals, and irrigation – about which millions of its citizens are barely aware. People focus on water slightly more during droughts. English clergyman Thomas Fuller publish...
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Is Colorado’s “final” Colorado River plan really final?
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, National

Is Colorado’s “final” Colorado River plan really final?

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com I heard about two lawyers that argued for over an hour. Finally, one said, “That’s my final word on the subject.” To which the other replied, “Oh, good. Now we can begin.” In politics, contentious agreements are a bit like that, too. There is really no such thing as a “final” agreement, only the agreement that’s in effect until the next meeting. The Bureau of Reclamation just released its “Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.” It represents the government’s “final decision” on how it will manage the Colorado River over the next ten years. The first draft of the document was published in January, followed by months of public comments and meetings, an...
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Lake Mead And Lake Powell Hit Historic Lows As Colorado River Crisis Deepens
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Lake Mead And Lake Powell Hit Historic Lows As Colorado River Crisis Deepens

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette In the past 10 days, both Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border and Lake Powell roughly 300 miles northeast on the Utah-Arizona line have recorded their lowest water levels since the reservoirs were first filled. Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir and which supplies water to Nevada, Arizona and California, measured 1,040.4 feet above sea level on Aug. 7. The level has continued to drop since then. On Monday, the reservoir measured 1,039.83 feet above sea level, nearly 190 feet below full and down about 2 feet over the past 30 days. A year ago, Lake Mead stood at roughly 1,054 feet. Hoover Dam, which created Lake Mead, was built in 1935. The reservoir was last at full in 1983. If the reservoir loses an...
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Polis Activates Emergency Drought Measures As Reservoirs Feel Growing Strain
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Polis Activates Emergency Drought Measures As Reservoirs Feel Growing Strain

By Luige Del Puerto and Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday declared a statewide drought emergency, citing the record-low snowpack and prolonged warmer temperatures across Colorado. He also activated the next phase of the state’s drought response plan. Polis had placed Colorado under Phase 2 in March. “Today, I am issuing a statewide drought emergency to support Coloradans, our economy, farmers and ranchers, and outdoor enthusiasts in the face of one of the most severe droughts in Colorado’s recorded history. With every county in the state experiencing drought conditions, activating Phase 3 of our Drought Response Plan allows us to better coordinate agencies, prepare for worsening conditions, and support Colorado communities, agriculture...
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Coastal desalination could save Colorado’s water. The pushback? Cost
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Coastal desalination could save Colorado’s water. The pushback? Cost

By Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB” | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s water rights must never become a bargaining chip.  The 1922 Colorado River Compact apportioned 7.5 million acre-feet annually to the Upper Basin, including Colorado, and the same amount to the Lower Basin states. The 1928 Boulder Canyon Project Act fixed specific Lower Basin shares: California 4.4 million acre-feet, Arizona 2.8 million acre-feet, and Nevada 0.3 million acre-feet. The 1948 Upper Colorado River Basin Compact later assigned Colorado roughly 51.75% of the Upper Basin’s share, or about 3.86 million acre-feet. The 1964 Arizona v. California Supreme Court decree confirmed federal oversight of these mainstream allocations while highlighting the need for supply solutions beyond repeate...
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Arizona California Nevada Unite On Colorado River Plan As Shortages Loom
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The Guardian, Approved, National

Arizona California Nevada Unite On Colorado River Plan As Shortages Loom

By Ian James | The Guardian Proposal includes cutbacks for three years as negotiations over future of shrinking reservoirs have been unsuccessful. The states of California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed voluntary water-saving measures for the next three years aimed at buying time while negotiations remain deadlocked over the future of shrinking reservoirs filled by the Colorado River. The Colorado River provides water to some 40 million people in the American west. But the two vast reservoirs filled by the river, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both stand at historically low levels, after consistent overdrawing coupled with reduced snowpack and warming from climate change. The seven states with legal rights to water from the Colorado River have so far failed to agree on...
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Historic Drought And Political Divide Stall Colorado River Agreement
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Historic Drought And Political Divide Stall Colorado River Agreement

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics With the Feb. 14 deadline looming, the seven states in the Colorado River Basin failed to reach an agreement on how to manage the river after the 2026 operating guidelines expire later this year. John Entsminger, Nevada’s chief negotiator, said there is no deal in place. “The seven Colorado River Basin states have failed to reach an agreement to collectively protect our respective communities and economies in the face of almost certain reductions to our use of the river,” Entsminger said. “As I talk with people throughout Southern Nevada, I hear their frustrations that years of negotiations have yielded almost no headway in finding a path through these turbulent waters.” Entsminger added, “As someone who has spent countle...
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Feds Unveil Colorado River Options as States Miss Agreement Deadline
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Feds Unveil Colorado River Options as States Miss Agreement Deadline

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Two months after the seven states of the Colorado River basin failed to reach consensus on managing the waterway, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a set of proposed alternatives. The alternatives are familiar concepts, including “no action” — an unlikely scenario — and certain levels of coordination, including voluntary measures, among the states. One option is driven by the historical, natural flow at one of the reservoirs. Current operating guidelines for the river that supplies water to seven states, 40 million people, 30 tribes and 5.5 million acres of agricultural land will expire at the end of 2026.  On Jan. 9, the Bureau issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement that evaluates five operational alterna...
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Colorado, Western States Face Federal Deadline to Avert Colorado River Showdown
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado, Western States Face Federal Deadline to Avert Colorado River Showdown

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette This Tuesday is the deadline set by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the seven states of the Colorado River to develop a framework for an agreement governing the river’s operations. But that agreement seems just as far away now as it did when Scott Cameron, who was named acting head of the Bureau of Reclamation in October, announced the deadline in June. Cameron told the Arizona Reconsultation Committee during its June meeting that Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum is prepared to act if the seven states failed to come up with the agreement framework by this week’s deadline. “Our goal is to parachute a seven-state deal” into an environmental impact statement the agency is developing and as the preferred alternative in Mar...
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