Federal proposal would cut Colorado River water for Arizona, California and Nevada

The ​U.S. government proposed deep cuts to water supply for Arizona, California and Nevada during dry years in a new plan it released on ‌Friday to operate the drought-stricken Colorado River.

The ​U.S. government proposed deep cuts to water supply for Arizona, California and Nevada during dry years in a new plan it released on ‌Friday to operate the drought-stricken Colorado River.

Lawsuits from states could challenge the federal intervention and could mean years more uncertainty for a river that provides water to one in 10 Americans, irrigates land producing 15% of U.S. food output and generates power for 6 million people in seven states.

Those seven states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, California and Nevada, known as the ​basin states — were unable to agree on how to share the water after over three years of talks to replace a plan that expires ​this year.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation intervened with a 10-year proposal through 2036 designed to provide flexibility to operate the ⁠river’s two largest energy-producing reservoirs — Lake Powell and Lake Mead — based on severe drought and chronic overuse, according to a final environmental impact statement released by the ​agency.

“This framework provides the flexibility to respond to changing hydrologic conditions while preserving the opportunity for the Basin States to continue working toward durable, consensus-based solutions,” Secretary of ​the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement.