The Colorado Basin states have until February 14 to agree on new water conservation measures.
Leaders from the seven Colorado River Basin states met in a “historic” meeting in Washington, D.C., but did not walk away with a clear consensus over new water conservation measures ahead of a looming February 14 deadline, reports Caitlin Sievers in Source NM.
According to Sievers, “Arizona stands to see the largest cuts if the states can’t reach an agreement, because its Central Arizona Project is one of the newest users of the river water, making it legally one of the first to be cut.”
The states have yet to agree on which of them should cut water ruse and by how much. “Lower Basin states want all seven states to share mandatory water cuts during dry years under the new guidelines. But the Upper Basin, which is not subject to mandatory cuts under the current guidelines, argue that they already use much less water than downstream states and should not face additional cuts during shortages.”
The Lower Basin states reduced their consumption from 7.4 million acre-feet in 2015 to slightly over 6 million in 2024, while the Upper Basin states increased their usage from 3.9 million acre-feet in 2021 to 4.4 million in 2024.
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