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Monday, August 22nd, 2022

Feds cut Colorado River allocation to Arizona, Nevada as talks fail

Author:     ZACK BUDRYK
Source:     The Hill
Publication Date:     08/16/22 2:16 PM ET
 Link: Feds cut Colorado River allocation to Arizona, Nevada as talks fail
Stephan:   Everyone knows by now that there is not enough water in the Colorado River, or Lake Mead, or Lake Powell, nor is it likely there will be, for both the cities and the agriculture interests that are completely dependent on that water. And as this report spells out, the seven states that depend on the Colorado River are not yet ready or capable of facing that reality. Over the next few years, we are going to see massive changes in those seven states, and it will affect the entire country because there will not be the same abundance of food coming out of those regions.
From left; Satellite images of Boulder Harbor Launch Ramp at Lake Mead in Boulder City, Nevada, on May 18, 2020, and on July 17 this year. Credit: Satellite image / 2021 Maxar Technologies

States along the Colorado River have officially missed a federally imposed deadline to develop a new water-sharing agreement, and the federal government on Tuesday announced new water allocation reductions, including nearly 25 percent in cuts to Arizona. 

The Colorado River basin serves seven states — an Upper Basin of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and a lower one of Arizona, California and Nevada — and its waters are allocated based on the terms of a century-old agreement from when there was substantially more water in the river.

Meanwhile, the region is facing a 20-years-and-counting drought, the worst in centuries.

In June, the Interior Department gave the states 60 days to agree on a new allocation plan for an additional 15 percent reduction on top of expected federal reductions before the federal government stepped in. That period expired Tuesday. 

In a news conference Tuesday, federal Bureau of Reclamation officials announced […]

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