Arizona, California and Nevada face possible reductions as a 25-year drought and falling reservoir levels raise risks for water supplies and hydropower in the Western U.S.
A new federal proposal to manage the shrinking Colorado River could impose cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet of water use per year on the lower basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, intensifying a dispute over how to share a river strained by a drought lasting more than 25 years. The Interior Department put forward its plan after the seven states that depend on the river failed to reach their own agreement before interim 2007 guidelines expire at the end of this year. Arizona officials and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said the deepest reductions under consideration would be damaging, while Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said the proposal includes unacceptable options that would force Arizona to absorb most of the cutbacks. The pressure on the river reflects both long-term overuse and climate change. A NASA study found Colorado River reservoirs and aquifers have lost 52 cubic kilometers of water since 2002. The river supports farming, cities, industry and drinking water across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and it also feeds hydropower (electricity generated from flowing water) at Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Analysts cited in the report said lower water levels could compromise power generation at both dams, though the expected effect would be limited electricity price surges during the hottest summer periods rather than blackouts.