Seven states drawing water from the Colorado River for drinking, farming and electricity walked away from the negotiating table Friday without a deal on how to share the dwindling water supply starting next year.
Negotiators spent months trying to close an expansive divide between the upstream states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, and the downstream states of Arizona, California and Nevada. On Friday, they told reporters it wasn’t going to happen before a Saturday deadline imposed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Colorado River Collaborative
This article is published through the Colorado River Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative supported by the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. See all of our stories about how Utahns are impacted by the Colorado River at greatsaltlakenews.org/coloradoriver
It’s the second time the states have blown past a due date to reach a broad agreement. It comes as dismal snowpack and drought plague the West, threatening to push reservoir levels much lower.
The river provides water to 40 million people across the U.S. and Mexico, contributing 27% of Utah’s water supply. It’s shrinking because of drought, overuse and hotter temperatures tied to climate change.
Both the upper and lower river basin states insisted they’re acting in good faith and said they’ll keep talking. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox was optimistic, saying a solution is still within reach.
“Utah is ready to make a deal,” Cox said in a prepared statement. “We will engage in good faith with partners who are committed to durable solutions, not soundbites.”
The governor’s statement followed Arizona’s Friday announcement that there is no consensus. That state’s chief negotiator, Tom Buschatzke, said the downstream states made concessions, proposing “substantial cuts” to their water allocations. He blasted the Upper Basin for refusing to make a firm commitment to cut water use.
Upper Basin states argue they use less water than Lower Basin states, don’t have huge reservoirs to store water in dry years, and lack legal authority to place significant restrictions on water users.