PHOENIX — The fight over Arizona’s share of the Colorado River could soon move from the negotiating table to the courtroom.
After years of negotiations, the seven Colorado River Basin states remain divided over how to manage the river’s shrinking supply. Arizona and the City of Phoenix have both retained outside attorneys as they prepare for the possibility of a major legal battle.
“We want to stay out of the courtroom, federal court, the Supreme Court. It’s not our preferred option,” Arizona’s Colorado River negotiator Tom Buschatzke previously said. “But Governor Hobbs has made it quite clear: If we have to, we will.”
Arizona hired the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to represent the state in possible litigation. Phoenix has retained Culp & Kelly LLP and O’Melveny & Myers LLP to advise the city on Colorado River issues.
The threat of litigation also dominated conversations this week at the 2026 Water Summit in Las Vegas.
“If negotiations fail, we’ll protect the people of Nevada,” Nevada’s Colorado River negotiator John Entsminger said.
A court fight could stretch on for years, potentially leaving the federal government in control of the river’s operating rules longer while states spend millions of dollars litigating century-old water rights.
For Arizona, experts say that risk may be worth taking because no state has more water on the line.
“The preferred alternative outlines about 3.6 million acre-feet of potential annual cuts, with Arizona bearing the brunt of those,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network. “In certain conditions, Arizona could take close to two million acre-feet every year.”
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The Bureau of Reclamation released its final environmental impact statement for post-2026 Colorado River operations on July 31. The federal government’s preferred framework models possible Lower Basin shortages of up to 3.6 million acre-feet, affecting Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico. A formal record of decision has not yet been issued.
The document does not establish every future cut. The precise reductions would depend on reservoir conditions, existing water priorities and whether the states reach additional agreements. However, Arizona’s relatively junior rights make the state particularly vulnerable under a priority-based system.
“Hopefully between now and then, we’ve worked something out and nobody needs to go to court,” Entsminger said. “But all seven states are sovereign, and they get to make their own decisions.”
What a lawsuit cannot do is put more water into the Colorado River. Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, fell to approximately 1,040.4 feet above sea level this week, the lowest level recorded since the reservoir was filled nearly 90 years ago.
The worsening conditions add urgency to negotiations that have already stretched on for years, leaving the states to choose between reaching a compromise or preparing for one of the most consequential water lawsuits in the West’s history.
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