States seek pact ahead of election
Administration change may delay negotiations over rules for distributing water to 40M
WASHINGTON — The states that rely on the Colorado River, which is shrinking because of climate change and overuse, are rushing to agree on a long-term deal to share the dwindling resource by the end of the year. They worry that a change in administrations after the election could set back talks.
Negotiators are seeking an agreement that would prepare for extraordinary cuts in the amount of river water that can be tapped.
The Colorado provides drinking water to 40 million people in seven states including New Mexico, 30 tribes and Mexico, as well as irrigation for some of America’s most productive farmland.
But the amount of water flowing in the Colorado has declined over time as rising temperatures reduce the snowpack that feeds the river.
“How do we live with the river that we have, not the river that we hope and dream for?” said Becky Mitchell, lead negotiator for the state of Colorado.
The rules that govern the distribution of Colorado River water expire at the end of 2026. Negotiators are trying to reach a deal quickly, in case the White House changes hands.
It’s not the prospect of a Republican administration that is particularly concerning, negotiators said, but rather a change in personnel and the time required to build new relationships between state and federal officials.
The Colorado River hit a crisis a year and a half ago, when dangerously low water levels threatened the water supply for California, Arizona and Nevada, prompting the Biden administration to seek an agreement among states on deep cuts. That crisis receded after last year’s unusually wet winter, which temporarily reduced pressure on the river; in May, California, Arizona and Nevada agreed to more modest reductions than what the government had initially sought.
But those negotiations were a precursor to a much harder challenge. Whatever agreement replaces the current rules will require far deeper reductions than in the past.
Those negotiations are taking place against the backdrop of scant snowfall so far this winter. On Tuesday, California reported its snowpack was just one-fourth of the average level for this point in the season. Monitoring sites across the Colorado River basin report snow measurements that are less than half their usual levels.
That below-average snowfall “has reinforced that you can potentially have a bad year after a good year,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of Arizona’s Department of Water Resources and the state’s lead negotiator in the talks. “The dry conditions that are leading to a decline in the flow of the river are probably our long-term future.”
Time is short to reach an agreement. The federal agency in charge of the Colorado River, the Bureau of Reclamation, has asked states to propose an agreement by early March so the department can issue draft regulations by December — weeks before Inauguration Day.