Monday Top of the Scroll: Tensions grow over lack of a water deal for the shrinking Colorado River
Two months ago, federal officials took the unprecedented step of telling the seven states that depend on Colorado River water to prepare for emergency cuts next year to prevent reservoirs from dropping to dangerously low levels. The states and managers of affected water agencies were told to come up with plans to reduce water use drastically, by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet, by mid-August. After weeks of negotiations, which some participants say have at times grown tense and acrimonious, the parties have yet to reach an agreement. The absence of a deal now raises the risk that the Colorado River crisis — brought on by chronic overuse and the West’s drying climate — could spiral into a legal morass.
Related articles:
- Axios: Colorado River at drought tipping point
- Colorado Politics: Basin states unlikely to meet federal deadline to draft plan to save Colorado River reservoirs
- Associated Press: Drought-stricken states in West face deadline to cut water use
- The San Diego Union-Tribune: Will Lake Mead’s plummeting water levels leave San Diego high and dry?
- ABC 15 – Phoenix: Sinema talks $4 billion in new drought funding