As Colorado River reservoirs plummet, Trump administration orders water cuts
The Colorado River, a critical water lifeline for seven states, has shrunk dramatically. And the nation’s largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Powell, have dropped to their lowest levels on record.
In an effort to prevent the reservoirs from reaching critically low levels, the Trump administration has released a plan that orders substantial water cutbacks in California, Arizona and Nevada over the next two years and outlines possible larger cuts if deemed necessary over the next decade.
The Interior Department accepted an offer the three states made to reduce what they take from the river by about 3.2 million acre-feet between now and the end of 2028.
California will cut its use of Colorado River water by about 12%, while Arizona will take about 31% less and Nevada 28% less.
“We’ve been in this 26-year prolonged drought period,” said Andrea Travnicek, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for water and science. “We continue to see a prolonged drought in our future. So continuing to work together as a whole within the basin is going to be extremely important.”
The Interior Department on Friday issued a document called a record of decision detailing its 10-year plan for dealing with water shortages along the river. If reservoir levels continue to fall, it allows for larger mandatory water cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet per year in California, Arizona and Nevada — as much as 40% of the combined allotments.
The Trump administration did not mention climate change in its announcement. But extensive research shows global warming, driven by the use of fossil fuels and other emissions of planet-heating gases, is intensifying the extremely dry conditions.
Since 2020, the river flow has averaged 32% less than in the 20th century.
The federal government was required to set new rules for addressing shortages this year because the old rules are expiring.
The three downstream states of California, Arizona and Nevada have repeatedly deadlocked in negotiations with the upstream states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. Federal officials set deadlines for the states to reach a consensus, but state negotiators missed those deadlines.
The Trump administration plan does not require water cuts for the four upstream states over the next two years. Travnicek said that’s because the federal government has different “responsibilities and authorities” in each region.
The 10-year plan gives the states a “stable and flexible foundation” to address the water shortage while continuing to try to develop a consensus, Travnicek said.
After the first two years, the plan calls for new rounds of talks among the states to try to agree on a water-sharing approach for subsequent years.
“The number one goal is still to reach consensus,” Travnicek said.
“We all share this watershed. We all have a responsibility, so we’re going to have to continue to work together and see if we can get to that long-term consensus,” she said. “I know a lot of folks want to get to that longer-term consensus.”
She praised California, Arizona and Nevada for offering plans to cut water use, which will help boost the level of Lake Mead near Las Vegas.
“It’s been really great to be able to see the Lower Basin coming together, working together on those voluntary actions,” she said.
Arizona’s leaders have warned, however, that they could sue to challenge mandatory water cutbacks that they say would harm their state.
A legal fight could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court and further complicate efforts by the seven states to agree on how to share water.