The top federal official on the Colorado River said his agency is targeting the middle of this summer to formalize a new water-sharing plan. Scott Cameron, the acting commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency which manages the nation’s largest reservoirs, addressed a crowd of water experts in Boulder, Colorado. “I can’t give you exact dates,” he said, “But I would expect mid to late summer, and as we get closer, we’ll try to signal a bit more precision around that.” … Federal water officials have urged the seven states that use the Colorado River to agree on a plan for sharing its water. If they don’t, Reclamation will likely install its own, but risk getting sued by states that could accuse the federal government of overstepping its authority.

Other Colorado River management news:

• FOX13 (Salt Lake City): Colorado River Basin sliding toward system-wide crash, new study warns
• Las Vegas Review-Journal: Lake Mead gets small boost from $100M upgrade to Henderson wastewater plant
• KLAS (Las Vegas): Lake Mead keeps dropping toward new low while Lake Powell gets a spring boost
• E&E News by Politico: Trump admin, Southwest states move toward desalination
• FOX10 (Phoenix): Drought relief: Arizona could get more Colorado River water under proposed deal
• Voice of San Diego: Colorado River deal is a ‘QSA 2.0’
• Colorado Politics (Denver): The hidden story behind Lake Powell’s low water levels reveals a canyon coming back to life
• Courthouse News Service: Colorado River users continue to discuss conservation in drought-stricken year
• Axios: Blog: Why Utahns should care about the downstream effects of Colorado River collapse