Three Colorado River states must take big water cuts as biggest US reservoirs plunge to record lows
- On Friday, the Interior Department finalized a 10-year management plan for the Colorado River, mandating water cuts for California, Arizona, and Nevada over the next two years to prevent reservoirs from reaching critically low levels.
- Federal officials imposed these rules after the seven basin states failed to reach a consensus on long-term management strategies, missing multiple deadlines to submit a unified proposal.
- The plan mandates 1.25 million acre-feet in annual reductions for the Lower Basin, with Arizona absorbing 760,000 acre-feet, California 440,000, and Nevada 50,000, plus voluntary conservation of at least 700,000 acre-feet over two years.
- Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs praised the outcome as a 'win' compared to forced federal alternatives, though she criticized the plan for protecting Upper Basin reservoirs at Lake Mead's expense without requiring those states to share reduction burdens.
- This two-year operating guideline serves as a temporary bridge while federal authorities require new rounds of talks to address future management, as reservoir levels could necessitate larger mandatory cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet per year.
133 Articles
133 Articles
The Taos News
Feds announce water cuts under new Colorado River plan
The Bureau of Reclamation released its two-year operating plan on Friday detailing how the agency will manage the Colorado River and the nation’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, amid ongoing drought and record-low water...
NYT: The Sky is Falling. Blame Climate Change - But Don't Blame Climate Change on the Colorado River.
by cotobuzz at CDN - New York Times piece / social post below, gets a failing grade (45/100) for neutral reportage and illustrates the Asymmetric Bullhorn Effect By leading with the high-salience slogan ‘climate change and overuse’ while the actual Interior/Bureau of Reclamation Record of Decision, Operating Guidelines, and 24-Month Study center on measured reservoir elevations, multi-decade drought hydrology, the 1922 … Click to read the rest H…
Arizona will have the biggest cuts, while the upstream states—Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico—do not face any for now.
Feds announce Colorado River cuts for 3 states amid drought | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
WASHINGTON >> Federal officials on Friday sharply cut how much water Arizona, California and Nevada can draw from the Colorado River over the next two years in an attempt to stabilize a system on the verge of collapse because of climate change and overuse.
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