While Arizonans continue to watch the battle for their water from the Colorado River play out, that water itself is having other issues this winter.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs traveled to Washington, D.C., late last week to meet with governors and water policy professionals from the Upper and Lower Basin states and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to discuss ongoing Colorado River negotiations.
At its most basic, the impasse stems from Upper Basin states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico — calling on the Lower Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — to reduce water use while Lower Basin states are calling on the Upper states to strengthen their conservation efforts. More than 40 million people rely at least in part on the Colorado River for drinking water, crop irrigation, hydropower and other needs.
The meeting in DC didn’t amount to many answers.
“While we didn’t leave with a lot of specifics — the details are to be worked out through negotiation — I think that we came away with hearing that nobody wants to end up in litigation,” Hobbs told Arizona Capitol Times. “We want to find a way to get to a deal.”
Outside of potential legal battles, all states are battling Mother Nature at the moment.
Most of the Colorado River’s flow originates as snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains in the Upper Basin, and the Rockies are in the midst of a snow drought, the term for a period of abnormally low snowpack.
Using satellite technology to map western snow cover, NASA on Jan. 15 reported “the lowest coverage for that date” seen since the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer first started tracking in 2001.
In Colorado, the statewide snowpack is at 57% of average, a record low. Utah’s snowpack, at 62%, is nearly the worst since observations began in 1980, The New York Times notes.
“The mountains of the western United States are sporting thin winter coats in early 2026,” NASA’s report summarized.
Unseasonably warm winter temperatures, especially over the central Rockies, led to temperature anomalies from mid-November to mid-January, where temps have been as much as 15 degrees above average, reports Open Snow, an app that charts snow reports and severe weather maps.
Each of the Colorado River Basin states just experienced their warmest December on record out of 131 years of data, per NOAA.
All of which makes the battle between the states that much more critical.
Arizona officials maintain the Grand Canyon State is doing its part to reduce use.
In his Jan. 27 presentation to the Arizona House, Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke reported that, as of Jan. 11, Lake Powell sits at 27% capacity and Lake Mead is at 33%. Both comprise the Colorado River’s largest reservoirs.
At the same time he noted other reservoirs above Lake Powell are not facing nearly the shortage of those in the Lower Basin. The Navajo Reservoir, in New Mexico, sits at 60% capacity; Flaming Gorge in Utah is at 82%; and Morrow Point in Colorado sits at 96%.
Blue Mesa in Colorado at 50% capacity represents the lowest of the Upper Basin reservoirs.
“It’s a pretty tough thing for the state of Arizona to ask our people to take cuts based on the elevations and the volume of water in Lake Powell alone,” Buschatzke said. “One of our big points of negotiation is that a substantial amount of water from these reservoirs above Lake Powell has to move to Lake Powell and then move down to Lake Mead so that we can access it.”
As for Upper Basin advocates claiming Lower Basin states are overusing their water allotment, Buschatzke points out while Lower Basin states are cleared to use 7.5 million acre-feet annually, they used 6.09 million in 2024 and 5.82 in 2023, demonstrating their commitment to conservation.
And while Upper Basin states say those figures don’t include tributaries within Arizona, Buschatzke points out that a 1963 Supreme Court ruling found that tributaries are not to be counted with the reservoirs.
“Arizona has developed responsibly over the past 35 years even as its population has surpassed 7 million residents,” the Coalition for Protecting Arizona’s Lifeline, a nonpartisan alliance of leaders focused on long-term water security from the Colorado River, shared in a statement. “Importantly, this growth occurred in compliance with some of the strongest water conservation and management laws in the country, requiring developments to prove a 100-year water supply for homes.”
Meanwhile, Arizona’s persistent drought continues. The period from September 2020 to August 2025 was the sixth hottest and seventh driest on record, according to ADWR. Temperatures were above average across the state in December, with several stations, Phoenix among them, measuring their hottest December on record.
And there are little indications for change ahead.
“Odds continue to favor warmer and drier than normal conditions this winter,” ADWR noted.
Steve Stockmar can be reached at sstockmar@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@inusua.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Steve Stockmar
News Editor | Sun Life Magazine & Arts & Entertainment
YourValley.net
Meet Steve
Steve Stockmar joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, and has been an Arizona journalist for almost 30 years. He serves as editor of Sun Life Magazine and contributes to West Valley communities where he focuses mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference.
Community: Every season Steve serves as a “buddy” with the Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale, has volunteered his time with Family Promise in Glendale, and previously served on the Ghostlight Theatre board in Sun City West.
Education: Graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Journalism major and English minor.
Random Fact: Steve once won a 50-player live Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament.
Hobbies: Anguishing over his beloved Chicago Cubs and Bears; listening to Beatles and Grateful Dead music.
Keywords
Colorado River,
Katie Hobbs,
Doug Burgum,
Colorado River Basin,
Arizona Department of Water Resources,
Lake Powell,
Lake Mead