By Abby Ortega, general manager of Infrastructure & Resource PlanningBrought to you by Colorado Springs Utilities A major November deadline for Colorado River negotiations passed without resolution, though hope remains for an agreement to avoid federal intervention.
The seven Colorado River Basin states were expected to submit broad parameters for managing Lake Powell and Lake Mead by Nov. 11, but failed to find consensus. However, enough progress was made to warrant an extension, according to a joint statement from federal officials and the states’ representatives. Continued discussions — and the deadline for them –—were set to an urgent timeline of mid-February 2026. Current guidelines are expiring, and a new finalized agreement must be in place by October 2026, the start of the 2027 water year.
What’s being negotiated are the future operating guidelines for the two large storage reservoirs. The guidelines must be realistic and resilient and not allow one reservoir to be drained to shore up the other, as has happened in recent years. Both reservoirs have hovered near critical levels for a few years.
These talks are critical for Colorado Springs. Half of the city’s water comes from the Colorado River Basin through trans-basin diversions that cross the Continental Divide. Because trans-basin water can be reused, the value of those supplies is multiplied.
Ongoing drought in the West already threatens Colorado River supplies for Coloradans who rely on them. In 2012, for example, Colorado Springs received only 35% of the expected yield. The Upper Colorado River Basin states have had to manage through natural shortages many times and are not willing to compound that risk by acceding to additional cuts (curtailment), a key negotiation point.
A Quick Review of How Colorado River Water is Shared:
The Colorado River begins as snowmelt along the Continental Divide in Colorado and winds its way through the Southwest toward Mexico.
Seven states rely on water from the Colorado River Basin. They are divided into Upper Basin (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico) and Lower Basin (Arizona, Nevada and California).
The 1922 Colorado River Compact promised certainty and security of water supplies for both the Upper and Lower Basins. Each was granted use of 7.5 million acre-feet of water a year, or 75 million acre-feet on a 10-year rolling average.
The Upper Basin states, which receive the bulk of snowpack, are required to ensure the Lower Basin states receive their compact allocation. That water is stored in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
Changing climate conditions over many years have resulted in lower flows in the river, yet the Lower Basin continued to pull mightily from storage, even as the Upper Basin managed with less water in dry years. The imbalance resulted in near-critical levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell in 2021, requiring water to be released from upstream federal reservoirs — including Blue Mesa in Colorado — as a stop-gap measure. Unfortunately, this water was released to the Lower Basin for use rather than remaining in Lake Powell to boost storage.
Two facts underscore the Upper Basin’s position in negotiations: Water going into Lake Powell is consistently less than what is going out (the Lower Basin is using more than their share), and the Lower Basin is not accounting for significant evaporation losses in Lake Powell in their calculations.
Becky Mitchell, Colorado’s commissioner to the Upper Basin Commission, has remained steadfast in defending Colorado’s rights under the compact. She seeks to prevent Lower Basin overuse and has resisted attempts to impose additional cuts on the Upper Basin states beyond those Mother Nature already imposes. Legal and administrative uncertainties remain, but there is strong support for Mitchell’s stance to protect all Colorado River water users in this state.
Meanwhile, Colorado Springs Utilities has prepared for possible future scenarios through extensive risk modeling and the goals set forth in its 2017 Integrated Water Resource Plan. The plan addresses risks to Colorado River supplies through diversification of Utilities’ water portfolio, expanded storage, enhanced reuse mechanisms and the development of Arkansas River Basin supplies through agricultural partnerships.
Conservation also plays a vital role in the plan: Customers have reduced their per capita water use by 44% since 2001 and embraced water-wise landscaping. These efforts to use water wisely are paying off in terms of stretching the city’s water supplies.
Together, conservation efforts and strategic planning will help Colorado Springs manage its valuable Colorado River resources amid ongoing challenges and negotiations.
