California plays ‘hardball’ with Colorado River states over cutbacks
A multistate quest to protect a dwindling Colorado River has devolved into a high-stakes battle pitting California against its neighbors. At odds are two dueling proposals as to how seven states should apportion critical consumption cuts that could help save the lifeblood of the Western United States. Despite engaging in months of negotiations, the states failed to produce a unified agreement by the Jan. 31 deadline stipulated by the Federal Bureau of Reclamation. Instead, they offered two competing proposals: one from California and one from the six other basin states. “There need to be some long-term solutions here to reduce water supply, and there’s a lot of money to do it,” David Hayes, a former climate policy adviser to President Biden, told The Hill.
Related articles:
- CNN: Senators form bipartisan Colorado River caucus as tensions rise in West over water crisis
- CNN: ‘The worst nightmare anyone’s dreamed of’: Hickenlooper on Colorado River crisis
- Newsweek: Opinion: We Must Save the Drought-Stricken Colorado River—Here’s How
- Arizona Republic: CAP water cuts increase disparities among Pinal County farmers
- CalMatters: Opinion - States play game of chicken over Colorado River
- Los Angeles Times: Opinion: The fight over the Colorado River is a 100-year-old interstate grudge match