Colorado River talks stall as Arizona, California, Nevada press US West

Colorado River states miss another deadline, press Upper Basin to concede

The seven Western states that rely on the Colorado River again failed to reach agreement on a plan to address record drought and water shortages, leaving the basin’s allocation negotiations headed toward federal intervention and possible litigation, according to a statement released Saturday by three governors. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said they are calling on Upper Basin states to offer more concessions after the region missed another deadline for a consensus strategy.

In their joint statement, the governors said the Colorado River is essential to their communities and economies and pointed to conservation efforts already undertaken by all seven basin states. They said their position remains “firm and fair,” and that all seven basin states must share responsibility for conservation going forward. They said Arizona, California and Nevada have offered to decrease their Colorado River allocations—27% for Arizona, 10% for California and 17% for Nevada—while negotiations continue.

The statement highlights the structure of the basin problem: how the river’s limited supplies are allocated, especially during dry periods. Much of the river’s flow begins as winter mountain snowfall in the Upper Basin, which accumulates far more snow than it consumes, while many of the Lower Basin’s largest users rely on those supplies for farming and for water and electricity.

Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper, who helped negotiate a river contingency plan in 2019 when he was governor, said the current situation in the Colorado Basin is “dire,” tying the urgency to the state’s low snowpack. He warned that without shared action “head-on and fast,” the region’s communities, farms and economies will suffer, and he said that “Litigation won’t solve the problem of this long-term aridification.”

John Entsminger, the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said the lack of progress in the negotiations has been frustrating. In his statement, Entsminger said the actions the authority has taken over the past two-plus decades are “less about raising Lake Mead’s elevation than they are about protecting ourselves if things go from bad to worse,” framing those steps as contingency planning for worsening hydrology.

The governors’ and officials’ calls came after states missed a November deadline set by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for a strategy to address water shortages after this year, when current guidelines expire. The deadline has been missed a second time as negotiations between the states have continued for more than two years, with Upper Basin and Lower Basin states trading proposed allocation and conservation terms.

If the states do not reach consensus, the federal government could step in and devise a plan that leaves parties dissatisfied, potentially setting up litigation over how the river’s water is distributed. The looming federal role underscores the bargaining pressure produced by the basin’s multi-year drought conditions and dwindling inflows.

Scientists have recently reported that snow cover and snow depth across the West are at their lowest levels in decades. The reports said snow cover for this time of year typically spans about 460,000 square miles, but this year it covers about 155,000 square miles—described as roughly “California-sized”—based on data cited from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.