After rejecting a plan offered by the rest of the region, California has entered a political tug-of-war with high stakes. So why has the state that uses the most Colorado River water decided to go it alone?
After a key deadline passed this week without an agreement on how to address the Colorado River’s crisis, California is now sharply at odds with six other states over how to take less water from the shrinking river.
“I think they’re playing to their strengths,” Larson said. “California is trying to play its best card, which is, ‘The law is on our side.’ And the other six states are trying to play their best card: ‘We are on each other’s side.’” Federal officials had called for each of the seven states that rely on the river to come up with alternatives for making water cutbacks by the end of January.
Less than four years ago, the states seemed to be solving problems amicably, and agreed to water reductions in a deal called the Drought Contingency Plan. But those reductions haven’t been nearly enough as the reservoirs have continued to decline during theAnd tensions have risen over the past several months, especially between California and the rest of the region.that the state’s proposal would “minimize the risk of legal challenge.
Now that the two sides have submitted starkly different proposals, the federal Bureau of Reclamation will begin reviewing the alternatives as part of a review that focuses on revising the rules for dealing with shortages.
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