Schmidt and five other researchers wrote<\/a> in a white paper that the new low underscores the urgency of using less water. They predicted the reservoirs will keep setting records every day until snows come and bring the next seasonal pulse of runoff.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear whether the strong El Ni\u00f1o conditions<\/a> this year might provide some relief. The latest three-month forecast<\/a> by the National Weather Service predicts above-average rainfall<\/a> along the river and in much of the Southwest through October.<\/p>\n The Colorado River provides water for about 35 million people<\/a> and 5 million acres of farmland, from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. The water was originally divided among the states in 1922 under an agreement that overpromised what the river could provide.<\/p>\n The remains of a boat sit on a dry shore at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. <\/p>\n (Ty ONeil \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n For decades, so much water has been taken that the river seldom meets the sea in Mexico, and its delta, once filled with lush wetlands and forests, has shriveled to stretches of dry riverbed<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the last 27 years, the river has shrunk dramatically. Research has shown that global warming is intensifying the extremely dry conditions<\/a>. <\/p>\n Since 2020, the flow of the Colorado has averaged 32% less than during the last century. <\/p>\n This year, the upper portion of the river\u2019s watershed in the Rocky Mountains had the least snow on record<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you need any more evidence that we have a five-alarm fire, here it is,\u201d Schmidt said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe changes that are going to be necessary to live in this world of reduced runoff are going to be incredibly significant,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cWe need to get seven states to agree together, or accept a mandate from the federal government, that major reductions have to be implemented right now.\u201d<\/p>\n After the meeting Tuesday, Burgum said<\/a> he was grateful to the governors for their \u201cleadership and commitment to finding solutions to address drought conditions in the Colorado River Basin.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration is focused on \u201cestablishing a new operating framework and continues to work with the states and 30 tribes to get closer to consensus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Negotiators for the seven states have been at an impasse in talks on how to cut water use, with the disagreements pitting three downstream states \u2014 California, Arizona and Nevada \u2014 against the upstream states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico.<\/p>\n Representatives of California, Arizona and Nevada have offered to make substantial cuts, using about 1.6 million acre-feet less annually over the next two years.<\/p>\n But state officials have said<\/a> the Trump administration is leaning toward mandatory cutbacks of up to twice that much per year for those three states \u2014 as much as 40% of their combined allotments. That\u2019s nearly as much as all the water that flowed from 19 million people\u2019s taps across Southern California last year, although it\u2019s important to remember that most Colorado River water goes to agriculture: hay, lettuce, broccoli and other crops.<\/p>\n Federal officials seem to be \u201ctrying to put some structure in place that pushes the states to try again, maybe with a slightly different playing field, to see if the states can come to some sort of agreement,\u201d said Jennifer Pitt, director of the National Audubon Society\u2019s Colorado River program.<\/p>\n Reaching a consensus would be the best outcome for all users along the Colorado River, Pitt said, because a court battle<\/a> holds tremendous uncertainty. <\/p>\n Over the last five years, cities across Southern California have received nearly one-fourth of their water from the Colorado River.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve tried to rely on it less, with some success. Those efforts, along with ample water from Northern California, allowed the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California last week to accept $65 million from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in return for leaving as much as 200,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead.<\/p>\n That water, equivalent to the annual use of about 600,000 typical households, is expected to add about 3 feet to Lake Mead\u2019s level, enough to temporarily stave off critically low levels for a few months.<\/p>\n Lake Mead was lower once before, in 2022, but Lake Powell was higher then, so the two combined held more water. <\/p>\n In the last three years, California, Arizona and Nevada have turned to voluntary water cutbacks<\/a> and federal payments to farmers<\/a> who agree to leave fields dry part of the year.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784695703_480_.jpeg\")
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