US EditionStates Repeat Talking Points with Little Progress on Deal as Colorado River Crisis Deepens
The Bureau of Reclamation projects Lake Powell may fall below hydropower levels in 2026 due to drought and demand, prompting operational changes and water release plans.
- The December 24-month study from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projects Lake Powell could drop below the threshold needed to make hydropower in 2026, providing a sobering backdrop to the Colorado River Water Users Association conference at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
- Climate change and persistent megadrought have gripped the Colorado River basin since 2000, while a slow winter start and 61% median snowpack cut projected 2026 inflow by 1 million acre-feet.
- Current conditions show Lake Powell is about 28% full, down from 37% last year, and the most probable forecast keeps levels above 3,490 feet but below 3,525 feet until 2027 runoff.
- Federal officials plan to release a draft EIS around the end of the year and set a Feb. 14 deadline for states, while Bureau operational tools include reservoir releases and shifting release timings.
- Given only intermittent wet-year reprieves, seven states' representatives have negotiated for two years, with past federal emergency releases like 181,000 acre-feet in 2021 straining relations.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Nevada Current
Feds demand compromise on Colorado River while states flounder despite water shortage
Colorado River negotiators (Left to right) Becky Mitchell (CO), Tom Buschatzke (AZ), Brandon Gebhart (WY), John Entsminger (NV). (Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current)Western states that rely on the Colorado River have less than two months to agree on how to manage the troubled river – and pressure is mounting as the federal government pushes for a compromise and a troubling forecast for the river’s two biggest reservoirs looms. Top water offici…
Aspen Journalism: December water forecast a sobering backdrop to Colorado River conference
LAS VEGAS — Federal water officials addressed the increasingly grim river conditions and laid out their options for dealing with plummeting reservoir levels over the first two days of the largest annual gathering of water managers in the Colorado River Basin. Last Monday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released its monthly report, which projects a two-year hydrology outlook for the operation of the nation’s two largest reservoirs: Lake Powell an…
#ColoradoRiver water negotiators appear no closer to long-term agreement — The Associated Press #COriver #aridification #CRWUA2025
The Colorado River flows through Gore Canyon in Colorado. Photo: Mitch Tobin/The Water Desk Click the link to read the article on the Associated Press website (Jessica Hill). Here’s an excerpt: December 18, 2025 The seven states that rely on the Colorado River to supply farms and cities across the U.S. West appear no closer to reaching a consensus on a long-term plan for sharing the dwindling resource. The river’s future was the center of discu…
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