‘Failure is not an option’: Colorado River states would share water cuts under new plan – By Brandon Loomis (Arizona Republic) / Apr 11 2023
HOOVER DAM — Federal officials on Tuesday released a draft plan with options for emergency measures to prop up Colorado River reservoirs, including one that for the first time envisions cuts that would be shared by all users across the watershed regardless of their established rights to water.
The plan spells out proposals to modify a 2007 shortage-sharing agreement and be open for public comment for 45 days. If adopted this summer, it will affect dam releases starting next year.
If the government chooses a plan to split cuts by percentage among all users, it could have profound effects on farm irrigation districts that traditionally have enjoyed some of the strongest legal rights to the river. Some three-quarters of the Colorado is spread on farm fields.
