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California's Governor Offers Support Utah's Desalination-for-Colorado River Water Idea
Seven basin states missed the Feb. 14 federal deadline to agree on sharing shrinking Colorado River water used by 40 million people amid drought and reservoir declines.
- On Feb. 14, negotiators from the seven Colorado River basin states missed the deadline set by the U.S. Department of the Interior as Lake Mead fell to 34% full and Lake Powell to 26%.
- Record-Low mountain snowpack at 47% of median and warm water year Oct. 1 caused Lake Powell inflow to drop by 1.5 million acre-feet, about 488 billion gallons, federal projections show.
- Negotiators remain split over mandatory cuts as Lower Basin states demand Upper Basin reductions while Upper Basin officials cite existing annual cuts, relying on voluntary cutbacks and federal payments to farmers as stopgap measures.
- Absent a deal, the bureau will implement its own plan, which officials say would likely trigger costly, yearslong litigation affecting about 35 million people and about 5 million acres of farmland.
- The Interior Department officials consider options, including no action, and Babbitt said `We need a fresh start` as public comment ends March 2.
13 Articles
13 Articles
California's governor offers support Utah's desalination-for-Colorado River water idea
A letter from California Governor Gavin Newsom to his fellow governors in states along the Colorado River is offering support for a multi-state solution to managing the water supply for 40 million people.But it's a paragraph tucked in that letter, obtained by FOX 13 News, that has reliably red state Utah leaders praising their blue state counterparts."I continue to be encouraged by our shared commitment to finding a common pathway to manage the …
Montrose Daily Press
Delta County IndependentColorado River negotiations crumble as another deadline passes by; Colorado among Upper Basin states that argue they use less water than Lower Basin states
Seven states drawing water from the Colorado River for drinking, farming and electricity walked away from the negotiating table last Friday without a deal on how to share the dwindling water supply starting next year.
The Fort Morgan Times
Colorado River states fail to meet another federal deadline for a deal as disastrous reservoir levels loom
Negotiators from the seven states along the Colorado River blew past yet another federal deadline over the weekend without reaching a compromise on how to share its water — even as this winter’s dismal snowpack could spell immediate disaster for the river system. Yearslong discussions about how to split the river’s shrinking water supply, which is relied upon by 40 million people, remained deadlocked as the Saturday deadline for a final deal cam…
With no Colorado River deal in sight, risk of federal action intensifies. Here's what that means.
JB Hamby spent an evening in Southern California last week flipping through pages full of Colorado River meeting notes reflecting the same arguments and negotiating positions over the waterway’s future dating back to 2023. “I’ve kept all my notebooks since I began this sick, twisted hobby back in early 2023,” Hamby, the state’s top negotiator on Colorado River issues, said Friday. “Our real issue is not that we’ve run out of time. … The problem…
As a Colorado River deadline passes, reservoirs keep declining
On Feb. 13, the leaders of seven states announced, one day before a Trump administration deadline, that there is still no deal to share the diminishing waters of the Colorado River. That leaves the Southwest in a quagmire with uncertain repercussions while the river's depleted reservoirs continue to decline.
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