Blog: The 1922 Colorado River Compact is now the obvious elephant in the negotiating room
As negotiators for the seven Colorado River Basin states rapidly approach Reclamation’s November deadline for providing a framework for a seven-state agreement for the Post-2026 Operating Guidelines for Lakes Powell and Mead, a larger threat looms. … Reclamation’s latest analysis predicts that storage at Lake Powell would fall below the 3500-ft elevation as early August 2026 and might continue to be below this critical elevation until March 2028. … In the face of this imminent possibility, Basin States and the Federal Government must commit to an enforceable agreement to reduce their total consumptive Colorado River uses with an equitable sharing of the burden sufficient to justify a waiver of claims under the Compact for the duration of the agreement.
Other Colorado River news:
- Inside Climate News: As Colorado River nears collapse, it faces leadership, transparency ‘crisis,’ environmentalists warn
- KYMA (Yuma, Ariz.): Yuma City Council opposes Colorado River Water transfer to other Arizona City
- The Denver Gazette (Colo.): Federal funding suspended: Palisade sewage lagoon project in limbo
- Aspen Times (Colo.): As zebra mussels continue to spread in the Colorado River, is there a silver lining?
