Monday Top of the Scroll: ‘There’s simply not enough water’ – Colorado River cutbacks ripple across Arizona
The Bureau of Reclamation had given states and tribes an Aug. 15 deadline to find ways to conserve 2 to 4 million more acre-feet of [Colorado River] water to stabilize the drought-stricken river and its two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Without such a plan, the bureau said, it would act.The deadline passed with no agreement in place…. Few people were entirely satisfied with the government’s announcement, but one stakeholder went further than the others in expressing disappointment, introducing a new wrinkle in talks among the river’s water users. The Gila River Indian Community said it would no longer voluntarily leave part of its Colorado River allocation in Lake Mead, an arrangement that helped Arizona meet the requirements of a regional agreement last year.
Related articles:
- Axios Phoenix: Arizona agriculture groups propose payment plan for water conservation
- KUNC: No firm new deadline for Colorado River basin states’ conservation plans
- Arizona Republic: Sen. Mark Kelly calls on Colorado River Basin states to ’step up’
- Inside Edition: Western US Residents Cautioned to Scale Back Water Usage As Country Faces ‘Megadrought’
- Western Farm Press: States shirked ‘meaningful’ action on Colo. River