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Six western states to cut water use

Published January 31. 2023 11:30AM

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Six Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed.

California - with the largest allocation of water from the river - is the lone holdout. Officials said the state would release its own plan.

The Colorado River and its tributaries pass through seven states and into Mexico, serving 40 million people and a $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry. Some of the largest cities in the country, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas, two Mexican states, Native American tribes and others depend on the river that’s been severely stressed by drought, demand and overuse.

States missed a mid-August deadline to heed the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s call to propose ways to conserve 2 million to 4 million acre feet of water. They regrouped to reach consensus by the end of January to fold into a larger proposal Reclamation has in the works.

Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming sent a letter Monday to Reclamation, which operates the major dams in the river system, to outline an alternative that builds on existing guidelines, deepens water cuts and factors in water that’s lost through evaporation and transportation.

Those states propose raising the levels where water reductions would be triggered at Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which are barometers of the river’s health. The model creates more of a protective buffer for both reservoirs - the largest built in the U.S. It also seeks to fix water accounting and ensure that any water the Lower Basin states intentionally stored in Lake Mead is available for future use.

The modeling would result in about 2 million acre-feet of cuts in the Lower Basin, with smaller reductions in the Upper Basin. Mexico and California are factored into the equations, but neither signed on to Monday’s letter.

John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said all states have been negotiating in good faith.

“I don’t view not having unanimity at one step in that process to be a failure,” he said late Monday. “I think all seven states are still committed to working together.”

California released a proposal last October to cut 400,000 acre feet. An acre foot is enough water to supply two to three U.S. households for a year.

JB Hamby, chair of the Colorado River Board of California, said California will submit a model for water reductions in the basin that is practical, based on voluntary action, and aligns with law governing the river and the hierarchy of water rights.

A fisherman throws a cast net along shore of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, near Boulder City, Nev. Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a plan to dramatically cut their use. California, the state with the largest allocation of water from the river, is the holdout. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People walk by a formerly sunken boat standing upright into the air with its stern buried in the mud along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Friday, Jan. 27, near Boulder City, Nev. Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a plan to dramatically cut their use. California, the state with the largest allocation of water from the river, is the holdout. AP PHOTO/JOHN LOCHER
FILE - Utah State University master's student Barrett Friesen steers a boat near Glen Canyon dam on Lake Powell on June 7, 2022, in Page, Ariz. Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a plan to dramatically cut their use. California, the state with the largest allocation of water from the river, is the holdout. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson, File)
FILE - A person is reflected in a window as they walk across Hoover Dam at Lake Mead, June 26, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a plan to dramatically cut their use. California, the state with the largest allocation of water from the river, is the holdout. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
FILE - The Colorado River flows through the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai reservation Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, in northwestern Arizona. Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a plan to dramatically cut their use. California, the state with the largest allocation of water from the river, is the holdout. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
FILE - Water flows along the All-American Canal Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, near Winterhaven, Calif. The canal conveys water from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley. Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a plan to dramatically cut their use. California, the state with the largest allocation of water from the river, is the holdout. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)