US EditionStates reliant on Colorado River fail to meet the latest deadline to find consensus
After missing two deadlines, states face worsening drought and must share water cuts to protect 40 million users, while federal intervention and legal battles loom.
- The seven Western states missed a federal deadline for the second time to agree on a post-2026 Colorado River plan, acknowledging Friday they would not meet the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation timeline.
- Existing rules from the 1922 Colorado River Compact, last updated in 2007, expired last year and scientists recently reported one of the driest winters with low snowpack, increasing water cut urgency.
- Negotiators focused in recent weeks on a five-year plan that includes Arizona, California and Nevada offering cuts of 27%, 10% and 17%, while upper-basin states resisted permanent reductions.
- Leaders say they are preparing lawyers and legal strategies as a federal plan, likely to spark litigation and reach the U.S. Supreme Court, risks lives and power supplies.
- Reclamation officials set the deadline to allow time for federal review and an Oct 1 start, and the Trump administration is accepting public comments on alternatives until March 2 while talks continue.
57 Articles
57 Articles
Colorado River states miss deadline, compromise nowhere in sight
"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," said John Entsminger, Nevada's lead negotiator and general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)Nevada and six other Colorado River states have failed to resolve a major disagreement on …
Colorado River negotiations crumble as another deadline passes by
The Colorado River is pictured where if flows near Hite, just beyond the upper reaches of Lake Powell, on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)Seven states drawing water from the Colorado River for drinking, farming and electricity walked away from the negotiating table Friday without a deal on how to share the dwindling water supply starting next year. Negotiators spent months trying to close an expansive divi…
States reliant on Colorado River fail to meet latest deadline to find water use consensus
The seven Western states that depend on the Colorado River missed a deadline for the second time Saturday to agree on a plan addressing record drought and water shortages.
Chicago Tribune
PHOENIX (AP) — The seven western states of the United States that depend on the Colorado River failed on Saturday for the second time to agree on a plan to address record drought and water scarcity. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs; California Governor Gavin Newsom; and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo issued a joint statement urging the states of the upper basin to offer more concessions. Those states are Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
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