The takeaway from the “500-plus plan,” the recently inked effort to save Lake Mead, can be summed up in just three words: We’re. Not. Done. That doesn’t make the deal any less consequential. Arizona, California, Nevada and the federal government have agreed to voluntarily conserve at least 500,000 acre-feet of water, over and above mandatory cuts, for the next two years. In 2022, that’s roughly twice as much water as we would otherwise be leaving in the lake. 
-Written by Joanna Allhands, an Arizona Republic columnist.​