Colorado River continues to dry as states fail to find a solution; federal officials step up with 'a shot across the bow'

Dark skies move over the Colorado River at Horseshoe
Bend, Arizona. (Photo by RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

How to share water from the drying Colorado River while addressing depleted reservoirs continues to be a quagmire for seven Western states and the federal government. 

Because the states have failed to find a solution, "U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials are considering whether to order Arizona, California and Nevada to take less water out of the river," reports Conrad Swanson of The Denver Post. "Federal officials must decide whether to impose cuts on the three lower Colorado River Basin states by either following the longstanding system of water-rights seniority or by spreading them across three states evenly."

"While federal officials consider their options, each of the seven states in the Colorado River basin will continue to negotiate water use for the long term. The first option would be to take no additional action, which means conditions along the Colorado River would worsen." Swanson explains. "The second option would cut water use from lower-basin states, based predominantly on the priority of water rights. Under the Colorado River's prior-appropriation legal system, those drawing water from the river the longest [primarily California] have a higher priority. So cuts would be imposed on those with the youngest water rights, like Arizona." Ian James of the Los Angeles Times reports, "The stakes in the decision are high for California, which receives the largest share of water from the Colorado River . . . Imposing an equal across-the-board cut would hit California harder, particularly in agricultural regions."

Swanson reports, "Federal officials expect to choose one this summer, and the plan would go into effect next year." By announcing two solutions, federal officials are "flexing their muscles over a problem they had hoped the states would solve themselves. . . . The move strengthens the federal agency's resolve to conserve water from the Colorado River as the seven states within its basin repeatedly fail to find common ground, said Rhett Larson, a water law professor at Arizona State University." Larson told Swanson, "I am reading this as a shot across the bow. The federal government is saying, 'Brace yourselves, because if you don't come up with something, we will.'"

This year's enormous snowpack did not solve the over two decades of drought. Swanson notes, "Water levels at lakes Powell and Mead — the country's two largest reservoirs — are still projected to diminish as they face historically dry conditions exacerbated by climate change." Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau told James, "The prolonged drought afflicting the American West is one of the most significant challenges facing our country today. We're in the third decade of a historic drought that has caused conditions that the people who built this system would not have imagined."

"Larson said he feels as though federal officials, particularly President Joe Biden, might ultimately lean further toward cutting water use across the board. . . . spreading the cuts more evenly would curry favor within the swing states," Swanson writes. Larson told her, "Realistically, there isn't a solution to this that doesn't require California to take some cuts. . . . Joe Biden needs Nevada and Arizona a lot more than he needs California. . . . You can't discount the politics."

Swanson notes that six of the seven states "found common ground this spring but couldn't set aside enough water. Plus, California — the wealthiest and biggest water user — wasn't on board, leading some water experts to suggest that filing lawsuits might be the only way to force progress. . . . Others have expressed hope that the increasing willingness of federal officials to force cuts will pressure the states into a deal."