Last week, the Bureau of Reclamation released an updated proposal for the near-term management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Its revised draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) includes a proposal crafted by the Lower Colorado River Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — that commits to conserving 3 million acre-feet of water through the end of 2026. The new plan comes after a period of relative optimism thanks to last winter’s record snow year, a wet summer in parts of the Rockies and increased water-conservation efforts across the region. But while federal officials and state leaders celebrated the new cuts and sunnier short-term water projections, environmental groups warned against minimizing the gravity of the crisis.

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