Water watch: Wyoming Legislature moves to ease anxiety over Colorado River curtailment
One the most closely watched water bills in the Wyoming Legislature this session moved decisively through committee this week in a sign of hope for some of the state’s water-dependent industries. The bill, SF 66, seeks to address heightened anxiety around the Colorado River, whose diminishing flows have set off a scramble by its seven user states to draft new rules and contingency plans ahead of a 2026 deadline from the Bureau of Reclamation, the agency charged with overseeing water management in the west. In the meantime, the amendments aim to provide a sense of security to junior water rights entities who depend on water transfers, including municipalities, trona mine operators and oil refineries in the Green River Basin.
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