The federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the Colorado River. The cuts are expected from the Interior Department, which announces water availability for the coming year months in advance so Western cities, farmers and others can plan.
FILE - The Colorado River in the upper River Basin is seen, May 29, 2021, in Lees Ferry, Ariz. WASHINGTON — The federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the. The Interior Department announces water availability for the coming year months in advance so Western cities, farmers and others can plan.
In 2007, following years of drought, the seven U.S. states in the basin — Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — and the federal government adopted rules to better respond to lower water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Those are the river’s two main reservoirs that transfer and store Colorado River water, produce hydropower and serve as barometers of its health.
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — the state’s so-called Upper Basin — don’t use their full 7.5 million acre-foot allocation from the river, and get a percentage of the water that’s available each year.Climate scientists and hydrologists say that higher temperatures driven by climate change will continue to reduce runoff to the Colorado River in coming years, and cause, so future plans should prepare for less water in the system.
“We are trying to find the right, equitable outcome in which the Upper Basin doesn’t have to take all of the pain from the long-term reduction of the river, but we also can’t be the only ones protecting Lake Powell,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of Arizona’s Department of Water Resources and the state’s lead negotiator in the talks.
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