Federal Government Steps In on Colorado River After Basin States Fail to Reach Agreement

The Colorado River has changed. Assailed by persistent drought and rising temperatures, the river's water flow level has dropped significantly over the past 25 years. That fact is at the heart of the debate among the states that depend on the river about how to use this crucial resource.

After three years of discussions, negotiators from the Upper Basin states (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico) and Lower Basin states (Arizona, Nevada and California) failed to reach agreement on management of Lakes Powell and Mead, the river's major reservoirs, which have reached critically low levels.

The federal government has stepped in, issuing a Record of Decision on Aug. 21 that establishes a 10-year framework for decisions about managing Lakes Powell and Mead, along with specific operating guidelines for the next two years. The states must renegotiate the operating guidelines every two years. The plan prescribes mandatory cuts to the withdrawals the Lower Basin states make; the Upper Basin states do not face mandatory cuts but must negotiate an agreement with the Lower Basin states on release of water from sources including Colorado's Aspinall reservoir to protect the Glen Canyon dam infrastructure and consider voluntary conservation measures.

Origins of the Dispute

In 1922, the seven states signed the Colorado River Compact, which allocated water among the Upper and Lower Basins. Subsequent agreements factored in water users including 30 Tribal nations and two Mexican states.

The compact allotted each basin 7.5 million acre-feet of water per year. (One acre-foot is enough to supply two to three average homes for a year.) But it was negotiated during a particularly wet time, and its drafters overestimated the river's true capacity.

Over the years, more users came to rely on the Colorado. The Bureau of Reclamation says the river now irrigates 5.5 million acres of farmland and sustains more than 40 million people in communities across the Southwest.

At the same time, less water is reaching the river, which receives about 92% of its flow from snowpack in the Colorado Rockies. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, the river's natural flow near Lees Ferry, Arizona, from 2000 to 2024 was about 20% lower than during most of the preceding 78 years.

An interim agreement in 2007 set guidelines on cuts to be made if the reservoirs reached specific levels, but it did not do enough to halt the dropping water levels, and emergency measures were taken in 2019, 2021 and 2022. The states set out to negotiate new guidelines that would take effect when the 2007 agreement expires Sept. 30 of this year. The talks turned contentious, and negotiators dug in to their positions.

The Lower Basin states said they have instituted conservation measures and are subject to mandatory cuts; they called for mandatory cuts among all the states. The Upper Basin states said the Lower Basin has drawn more than its share of water over many years and is not accounting for diversions between the two reservoirs and evaporation. Under the original compact, the Upper Basin is required to ensure the river's flow at Lees Ferry is not depleted below 75 million acre-feet over any 10-year period, but the states contend that they cannot release water the river does not provide.

What Happens Next

The 10-year framework establishes ranges that provide flexibility and leave room for negotiations to continue. The Lower Basin states issued a statement Aug. 21 calling the plan "a first step" and indicating they will seek "a longer-term agreement that produces additional reductions, including through participation of all seven Basin states." The Upper Basin states have expressed willingness to keep talking.

Colorado's share of the Upper Basin's voluntary conservation is still being worked out.

"We're still going to be subject to state administration," says Kim Gortz, water resources manager at Colorado Springs Utilities. "Depending on the kind of year we have will determine what those impacts look like."

"Since 70% of the water we use comes from the Colorado River Basin, it's important that we continue to diversify our supplies moving forward, while investing in projects that provide continued resiliency."

Jennifer Jordan, Spokesperson, Colorado Springs Utilities

In extreme drought years, "we're able to rely on storage across our 25 reservoirs, as well as continued conservation actions by our customers, to help see us through," Jordan says.

Average Annual Water Consumption in the Colorado River Basin, 2020–2024

Source: U.S. Department of the Interior