US proposes cuts to Colorado River use for Arizona, California and Nevada

Published 31 July 2026 · us

The proposal comes as the river faces a historic water shortage, with reservoirs dropping to levels not seen since 1957. Three western states in the

The proposal comes as the river faces a historic water shortage, with reservoirs dropping to levels not seen since 1957. Three western states in the United States would take less water from the Colorado River under a federal proposal to stave off a crisis in the beleaguered waterway. On Friday, the US Bureau of Reclamation issued a proposal that would spare four other states from facing mandatory cuts for now. It is meant to be flexible, allowing deeper cuts in drier times while giving the states more time to collectively agree on how to manage the dwindling resource that flows through dams to produce hydropower. The Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada could together be forced to reduce their use by up to 3 million acre-feet (130 billion cubic feet) annually through 2036 — about the amount that Arizona and Nevada receive and enough to serve more than 25 million people a year. The actual reductions would be determined every two years based on conditions throughout the basin. “The Department has a responsibility to ensure the Colorado River system remains reliable and resilient for the millions of Americans, communities and industries that depend on it,” US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. Under the proposal, California, Nevada and Arizona would divide half the cuts based on a plan they already developed. Beyond that, priority water rights come into play.

Arizona and Nevada have faced mandatory reductions before, but the proposal outlines deeper cuts that could impact agriculture, cities and tribes. It could translate into higher water prices, more reliance on groundwater and leaving fields unplanted, experts say. The proposal comes after years of deadlocked negotiations among the states and threats of lawsuits if a proposal did not comply with longstanding laws and guidelines that govern the river, some of which expire at the end of 2026. A record-low snowpack also left the Colorado River’s two key reservoirs at their lowest combined level since 1957. The federal government released its final environmental review on Friday, with binding operating guidelines expected by October 1. Why is the plan coming now? More than 40 million people in seven US states, several tribal nations and Mexico rely on the flows of the 2,334-kilometre (1,450-mile) river. Decades of overuse, along with rising temperatures, drought and climate change, mean it no longer provides what was promised in 1922. The river’s health often is determined by how much water is in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two largest human-made reservoirs in the US. Together, the reservoirs are at their lowest point since they began filling, according to a recent paper by Colorado River experts, and they are approaching levels where they could no longer produce hydropower. How the water is allocated and conserved — especially amid a decades-long drought — has led to contentious arguments among the states, including threats of lawsuits.