With the Colorado River’s giant reservoirs declining toward critically low levels, negotiators for California, Arizona and Nevada announced a new water-saving plan for the next two years. Representatives of the three states said in a written statement Friday night that their plan aims to “stabilize the Colorado River through 2028.” It will require larger cuts in water use than they had pledged previously in talks with other states and the federal government. … The three states’ negotiators said their plan identifies more than 3.2 million acre-feet of water cutbacks through 2028, building on their previous proposal. Representatives of the three states negotiated the short-term deal after they deadlocked in talks with four other states on a long-term plan for sharing the river’s diminishing water.

Other Colorado River management news:

• The Guardian (U.K.): California, Arizona and Nevada propose water-saving plan for Colorado River
• KJZZ (Phoenix): This new Colorado River plan could give Arizona a ‘lifeline and cause for hope’
• Arizona Daily Star (Tucson): Ariz., Calif., Nev. announce plan to save Colorado River water
• FOX13 (Salt Lake City): Lower Basin states offer a Colorado River deal
• Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada wants to cut its own Colorado River share for emergency conservation need
• Arizona Republic (Phoenix): Could a massive pipeline from the East solve Arizona’s water woes?