… The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the federal steward for the river under the Department of the Interior, last week released a 10-year framework that establishes rough parameters for managing the river, but imposes no specific long-term plan. … The federal government plans to roll out more detailed management plans every two years if the states continue their impasse. The agency will release the first of those plans any day, imposing cuts in the downstream states of California, Arizona and Nevada — an estimated 10% cut to California’s supply through 2028, or roughly 440,000 acre-feet a year. No mandatory cuts are expected in the upper basin states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico, according to those involved in negotiations. … This isn’t the long-term plan that California’s water suppliers were hoping for.

Other Colorado River management news:

• Center Square Arizona: Bipartisan opposition grows against feds’ Colorado River plan
• KJZZ (Phoenix): Hobbs calls GOP frustration over her handling of river negotiations ‘political gamesmanship’
• Arizona’s Family (Phoenix): How Arizona towns and cities will get water with Colorado River cuts pending
• KGUN (Tucson, Ariz.): Tucson says it’s ready for federal water supply cuts
• Engineering News-Record: Reclamation puts dam protection at center of post-2026 Colorado River plan
• Albuquerque Journal (N.M.): Opinion: NM must protect its share as Colorado River wars heat up
• The Arizona Republic (Phoenix): Opinion: Arizona has a growth problem, not just a water problem
• The Land Desk: Blog: Feds release Colorado River plan, and no one’s very happy about it
• Arizona Farm Bureau: Blog: Colorado River projections paint grim future for farmers
• Arizona Municipal Water Users Association: Blog: Colorado River’s new plan buys Arizona time, but it’s not a solution
• Farm Progress America: Podcast: Colorado River water cuts threaten Southwest farm operations