The feds declined to seriously cut Colorado River water use. Here’s what that means
With drought pummeling the Southwest and the country’s most important reservoirs scraping bottom, the Department of the Interior announced that the seven states that rely on it must reduce the water they pull from the Colorado River next year. The announced cuts are unprecedented. They are also a small fraction of what the federal government says is needed to keep the Colorado River system from collapsing. Here’s what you need to know.
Related articles:
- Newsweek: Lake Mead water use reductions essential to stop ‘catastrophic collapse’
- The Associated Press: How new Colorado River cuts will impact states, residents
- Western Farm Press: Reclamation will manage the river under Tier 2a restrictions in 2023, requiring water cuts to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico but not California.
- KSL – Salt Lake City: Cox says Utah, other Western states will have to cut back on Colorado River use