The Bureau of Reclamation on Friday released a draft of options for how to manage the Colorado River water supply for years to come \u2014 one that could break a logjam in negotiations among states over the river\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
The federal agency, seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico \u2014 along with environmental, industrial, recreational and other groups \u2014 have been debating for years how to manage the Colorado River\u2019s key reservoirs once the current management rules end in August. Friday\u2019s draft report is the next major step in deciding how to replace those rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cColorado looks forward to reviewing the report. Questions about the draft EIS should be directed to the Department of Interior and Bureau of Reclamation,\u201d the state\u2019s Colorado River team said in an email to The Colorado Sun.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department of the Interior is moving forward with this process to ensure environmental compliance is in place so operations can continue without interruption when the current guidelines expire,\u201d Andrea Travnicek, the department\u2019s assistant secretary for water and science, said in a news release Friday. \u201cThe river and the 40 million people who depend on it cannot wait. In the face of an ongoing severe drought, inaction is not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n
The more than 1,600-page report, called a draft environmental impact statement, is a required step in a yearslong process under the National Environmental Policy Act to replace the expiring management rules. It details five alternatives for how to manage the water supply, including one required \u201cno action\u201d option.<\/p>\n
These options come from the feds \u2014 not basin states. The Department of the Interior and its subagency, the Bureau of Reclamation, called on the seven basin states, including Colorado, to agree on a management plan. If they can agree, it would become the preferred alternative, i.e., the final game plan for the basin, federal officials have said.<\/p>\n
Those state leaders, however, have been at an impasse since early 2024, when they released competing management proposals. They missed a deadline in November to share high-level glimpse of a unanimous proposal, and they failed to share updates on progress again in December.<\/p>\n
They have disagreed over everything from which reservoirs should be managed under the post-2026 rules to how long the rules will last. One major sticking point: How will the basin cut back on water use in its driest years, and who will feel the pain the most?<\/p>\n
The four Upper Basin states \u2014 Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming \u2014 have been operating as a single bloc. They\u2019ve repeatedly asserted that they are already forced to make cuts in dry years and should not be required to cut back more.<\/p>\n
These states are closer to the headwaters of the Colorado River and its major tributaries and their water users often do not have large upstream reservoirs to help pace the flow of water downstream.<\/p>\n
Colorado\u2019s largest reservoir, Blue Mesa, is dwarfed by the immense reservoirs further downstream \u2014 Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona border, and Lake Mead, on the Arizona-Nevada border.<\/p>\n
Lake Powell and a downstream reservoir, Lake Mead, can store up to 53.9 million acre-feet (Blue Mesa\u2019s capacity is about 940,000). Both lakes Powell and Mead, which make up about 92% of the reservoir storage capacity in the entire Colorado River Basin, have fallen to about a third of their individual capacities because of prolonged drought, a changing climate and persistent human demands.<\/p>\n
One acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons of water, or roughly the annual water use of two to four urban households.<\/p>\n
The three Lower Basin states \u2014 Arizona, California and Nevada \u2014 have said they\u2019ve also cut back on their water use and future shortages need to be shared among all seven basin states.<\/p>\n
In the basin\u2019s driest years, these water shortages could force large cities like Phoenix to dip into other water supplies and farmers and ranchers to end seasons early. They could impact hydroelectric power generation, local economies and even the nation\u2019s food system.<\/p>\n
State officials were still firm on their disagreements at the basin\u2019s largest gathering, the Colorado River Water Users Association conference last month in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as we keep polishing those arguments and repeating them to each other, we are going nowhere,\u201d John Entsminger, the governor-appointed negotiator for Nevada, told the gathering.<\/p>\n
Historically, the federal agencies have stepped in to facilitate agreements among states on water issues. In 2023, they released a similar draft of management alternatives for the basin before 2026. The options showed the water cuts the federal government was willing to consider \u2014 and encouraged states to agree on their own solution after months of disagreement.<\/p>\n
Water watchers around the basin will have a chance to comment on the post-2026 alternatives during a public comment period from Jan. 16 to March 2. The federal agency will also host two virtual meetings to share more details on the draft Jan. 29 and Feb. 10.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s in the draft?<\/strong><\/p>\n The draft alternatives are designed to cover a broad range of potential outcomes after 2026, the executive summary said. The five alternatives are:<\/p>\n