Federal Agency Offers Future Colorado River Management Options as States Pursue a Long-Sought Consensus

Federal agency offers future Colorado River management options as states pursue a long-sought consensus

With the seven basin states locked in a stalemate over Colorado River negotiations, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released its draft of options for managing the basin’s water supply.  The states now have until Feb. 14 to reach consensus on the post-2026 operational guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, or the federal agency will move forward with one of the five options listed in its draft guidelines published on Friday, Jan.9.   “Colorado’…

One Colorado River option doesn’t require state input. And it could still crash the system.

Cynthia Campbell can walk four blocks north and be in the middle of a long water canal that carries Colorado River water to Phoenix. When she turns on her faucet, the water that comes out is almost exclusively from the river. And as a long-time water expert, she can’t stop thinking about the possibility outlined in a new federal report that, someday, that water might not come. “It’s a very real thing from my perspective,” said Campbell, director…