PHOENIX, Arizona —
A senior water official from one of the three Lower Basin states indicated that a federal plan for managing the drought-affected Colorado River would require Arizona, California, and Nevada to reduce their water consumption by roughly 21 percent over the coming two years. The report, based on an anonymous source familiar with the negotiations, suggests this significant reduction is necessary to address declining supplies in the region.
Under the anticipated short-term proposal, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is expected to adopt measures that cut water use by 1.6 million acre-feet in both 2027 and 2028. This totals 3.2 million acre-feet, which represents about one-fifth of the current allotment for the Lower Basin states. The agency is scheduled to issue a final environmental impact statement this week, followed by a binding record of decision on Friday.
The framework outlines that reductions for the Lower Basin could nearly double from 2029 through 2036, reaching up to 3 million acre-feet annually in those years. These extended cuts are intended to maintain critical reservoir water levels as the current operating rules expire at the end of 2026. The states have been engaged in negotiations for three years to secure a replacement agreement.
While the Lower Basin states are moving forward with these reductions, they are calling on the federal government to impose similar mandatory cuts on Upper Basin states: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Officials from those four states have expressed resistance to such requirements, noting that they already face constrained supplies due to long-term drought conditions.
