The Colorado River’s water serves 40 million people — including 2 million Utah residents. … The states are negotiating their preferred plan for those operations for Reclamation to consider. Their plan has to consider extreme drought and climate change in the American West, which make for a shrinking river. Reclamation asked the states to submit their plan in March so the agency would have time to analyze it. But now, Amy Haas, executive director of the Colorado River Authority of Utah, told The Salt Lake Tribune that she thinks it is unlikely that the seven states will have a unified plan by then — which means the feds won’t yet be able to consider their proposal.

Related articles: 

• Courthouse News Service: Facing future of shortages, Colorado River users dream of making more water
• Arizona Daily Star: Colorado River impasse could lead to legal chaos
• Las Vegas Sun: Water returns to 2021 level, but Lake Mead’s health remains fragile 
• jfleck@inkstain – blog: Ignoring an Inconvenient Colorado River Basin Risk
• Mohave Daily News: Borrelli proposes bill requiring approval from municipalities to pump Colorado River water
• Denver Post: How threats to the Colorado River’s future united an unlikely team to keep its water flowing on the Western Slope