| The latest news about the Colorado River is dire. Since 2000, the river's flow has shrunk about 20%. An extremely warm winter has brought very little snow in the Rocky Mountains. Reservoirs are declining to critically low levels. And the leaders of seven states are still at loggerheads over the water cutbacks each should accept to prevent reservoirs from falling further. |
| Here are six things to know about the current crisis: |
| A short-term deal, at best: Negotiators for the seven states still are discussing ways they might reach a short-term deal as a "bridge into a longer-term agreement," said Wade Crowfoot, California's natural resources secretary. But after missing a Feb. 14 federal deadline, the states are running out of time. Gov. Gavin Newsom told governors in a letter that California would welcome joint investments in water recycling and desalination, and that he believes it's still possible to agree on a plan "for the next several years." |
| States drawing up Plan B: Officials are talking about what they will do if no deal is reached. Representatives of Arizona, Nevada and California already offered cuts of 27%, 17% and 10%, respectively. But that hasn't been enough for negotiators representing Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. Crowfoot said the talks about a Plan B among California, Arizona and Nevada officials focus on what water agencies could do to stabilize the level of Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, which is 34% full and set to decline further. |
| A court battle looms: As the Trump administration considers ordering cuts, state officials are bracing for potential lawsuits. Utah and Arizona have begun setting aside money for legal bills. A fight could take years until there is a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. Robert Glennon, a University of Arizona emeritus law professor, said no one knows what the court would do. "This is rolling the dice on something that is really quite profound," he said. "I don't know about you, but I don't like to go to Vegas and play the craps." |
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| Arizona is most vulnerable: Arizona is preparing for the largest cutbacks. That's because the Central Arizona Project, the series of canals that runs to the Phoenix and Tucson areas, isn't nearly as old as other aqueducts, giving it low-priority water rights that put it among the first in line for cuts. Farmers who rely on the CAP already have been forced to leave many fields dry. The coming cuts likely will prompt Arizona cities to drill more wells and pump more groundwater, which is declining in many areas. |
| Less for farms: Nearly half the water that is taken from the river is used to grow hay for cattle. In all, agriculture consumes about three-fourths of the water. In the last few years, farmers have left some hay fields dry part of the year in exchange for federal funds. Glennon said agriculture needs to conserve more, and an agreement among the states could include a fund to help farmers switch to irrigation systems that use less. |
| Cutbacks carry costs: For cities, adapting will require more conservation and searching for alternative water sources, which will cost money and push up water bills, said Rhett Larson, an Arizona State University law professor. Some cities probably also will have to buy out farmers or pay them to leave fields fallow, which will push up urban water costs further, he said. And as farms produce less, he said, "eventually you'll feel it in the grocery store." |
| | | Negotiators for seven states remain deeply divided over how to cut water use along the Colorado River. The chances of a court battle appear to be growing, with the threat of deep cuts in water deliveries to California and other Western states. | | | |
More water news |
| With very little snow in the Rocky Mountains, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation now projects the runoff flowing into Lake Powell, the Colorado River's second-largest reservoir, will decrease so much that by later this year the water level probably will drop too low to spin turbines and generate hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam. As Shannon Mullane reports for the Colorado Sun, that would remove a cheap, renewable and reliable power source for communities across the West. |
| Glen Canyon Dam also has design flaws that create problems at low reservoir levels. As I've reported, if the reservoir declines to a point that water can pass through only four 8-foot-wide bypass tubes, that would limit how much can reach California, Arizona and Nevada. Those states have urged the Trump administration to fix or overhaul the dam to address this problem. |
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| Last week, Jonathan P. Thompson wrote in his newsletter The Land Desk that the impasse among the states is pushing Glen Canyon Dam closer to the brink. He said federal officials could decide to reengineer the dam to ensure water still can pass at low reservoir levels, but that would be only a temporary fix. As Thompson put it, "aridification is rendering the dam obsolete, at least as a water storage savings account." |
| Heather Sackett of Aspen Journalism spoke with experts about why the worsening crisis still hasn't forced a deal. Kathryn Sorensen, a researcher at the ASU Kyl Center for Water Policy, said: "There's so little water to go around that positions have become hardened as a result. We're not just talking about inconvenient cuts; we're talking about severe pain to economies at this point." |
| | | Journalists from the Los Angeles Times travel along the Colorado River to examine how the Southwest is grappling with the water crisis. | | | |
| In Arizona, an advocacy group backed by the Central Arizona Project has begun rolling out TV ads and online videos saying the state is being singled out in the options the federal government has outlined. Brandon Loomis of the Arizona Republic reports that an ad aired by the coalition declares: "Arizona is being unfairly targeted for reductions of Colorado River water that would cripple our state." |
| In California, Newsom launched a new plan this week that sets a goal of securing 9 million acre-feet of additional water, enough to fill two Shasta Reservoirs, by 2040 in an effort to offset expected losses caused by climate change. As Camille von Kaenel reports for E&E News by Politico, the 2028 water plan will be a blueprint for new reservoirs, conservation efforts and groundwater recharge projects. Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth says the effort "will help us plan smarter to deal with the way climate change is testing our water systems." |
More climate and environment news |
| California is spearheading a lawsuit against the Trump administration for canceling billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects awarded during the Biden administration. My colleague Hayley Smith reported the cuts included a $1.2-billion federal grant for California's hydrogen hub. The hub was part of the Biden administration's nationwide effort to develop hydrogen projects to replace planet-warming fossil fuels, particularly in hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as heavy-duty trucking. |
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| | | Colorado River in Crisis is a series of stories, videos and podcasts in which Los Angeles Times journalists travel throughout the river's watershed, from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the river's dry delta in Mexico. | | | |
| Illegal cannabis farms are polluting national forests in California, leaving contamination that harms wildlife and watersheds. Reporter Rachel Becker of CalMatters visited an illicit cannabis grow that was raided by law enforcement in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, where a pile of pesticide sprayers was left behind. Researchers are sounding the alarm, she wrote, "that inadequate federal funding, disjointed communication, dangerous conditions and agencies stretched thin at both the state and federal level are leaving thousands of grow sites — and their trash, pesticides, fertilizers and more — to foul California's forests." |
| This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our Boiling Point podcast here. |
| For more water and climate news, follow Ian James @ianjames.bsky.social on Bluesky and @ByIanJames on X. |
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