During a tour of the Western Slope last week, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said he was frustrated with the pace of negotiations that could determine how the Colorado River is shared in the future and that the Upper Basin states may be pushing back too hard. A deal should have been reached last summer, he said. “Colorado should have a right to keep the water that we have been using the way we’ve been using it, and I don’t think we should compromise that,” Hickenlooper said. … The seven states that use water from the Colorado River – Arizona, California and Nevada comprise the Lower Basin – have just over a month left to agree on how the nation’s two largest reservoirs would be operated and cuts shared in the future before the federal government may decide for them.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

• FOX 13 (Salt Lake City, Utah): Plan to pay farmers not to grow crops could help the Colorado River and Utah politically
• KUER (Salt Lake City, Utah): UCLA says Utah lags on recycling wastewater. That’s not how the state sees it
• KJCT (Grand Junction, Colo.): Mesa County residents meet with River experts to discuss the state of the river
• WIRED: This artificial wetland is reusing wastewater to revive a lost ecosystem (in the Colorado River Delta)
• CBS Colorado: Colorado’s snowpack struggles persist despite weekend snow
• The Arizona Republic (Phoenix): Opinion: Some in Phoenix live without water while industry guzzles it