Arizona, California and Nevada would take less water from the Colorado River under a proposal announced Friday by the federal government to stave off crisis in the beleaguered waterway.
The proposed cuts in the Lower Basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada would be the biggest to date and could have huge impacts across cities and farms — higher water prices, increased groundwater reliance, more agriculture out of production and conservation mandates in places where none have existed before.
Leaders and community members are reacting to the proposal and its potential impacts on Arizona:
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs:
“Today, the federal government released a broad range of alternatives for how the Colorado River will be managed over the next ten years. Within that range is the opportunity for the federal government to adopt the commonsense, compromise proposal put forward by Lower Basin States for 2027 and 2028. Our proposal is one of the largest conservation programs in Colorado River history and builds on Arizona’s decades-long commitment to responsible water stewardship. While this FEIS still contains unacceptable options that include the federal government forcing Arizona to take the majority of draconian water cutbacks, implementing the Lower Basin agreement would protect Arizona from massive water cuts, distribute reductions more fairly across the Lower Basin States, and provide stability and protection to the water supply that our communities rely upon.
“As the federal government finalizes their operating plans for 2027 and 2028, my administration will be working around the clock advocating for an approach that protects the stability of the system, distributes water reductions equitably, and ensures water security for all Colorado River water users. I remain steadfast in my commitment to a long-term Colorado River solution that ensures every state in the system shares in its conservation.
“Arizona provides the agricultural produce, critical minerals, weapons defense systems and cutting-edge semiconductors that feed America, protect America and fuel America’s high-tech economy. No other state in the Colorado River basin can say the same. We developed the Lower Basin Proposal to increase water resiliency for the region and ensure that no single state was bearing the burden alone. Inequitable, federally imposed cuts to our Colorado River water allocation will be unacceptable to Arizonans, and will put every American at risk. Previous federal proposals to slash Arizona’s Colorado River water would be devastating for our nation as we work to compete with China in the AI race, onshore critical supply chains, feed the country, and rebuild our depleted missile stockpile. I will continue making that case to the federal government and fighting relentlessly to protect Arizona’s fair share of the Colorado River so our families can feel confident we will have the water we need to turn on the taps, nourish our crops, and grow our economy well into the future.”
State Representative Teresa Martinez, Chairman of the House Rural Economic Development Committee:
“Pinal County farmers already lost their Colorado River water. That happened years ago. They took the hit without a bailout, without fanfare, and without much sympathy from anybody.
“So when Washington tells Arizona to cut more, I want straight answers. Who is being asked to cut? Who is being protected? And is rural Arizona once again expected to absorb the pain while others get credit for talking about conservation?
“My district has already paid a heavy price. I will be talking to cities, farmers, growers, and water leaders across Legislative District 16 to find out exactly what this decision means for them. Then I will have more to say.
“What I will not do is support a system where some keep holding onto water while Pinal County farmers are forced to bail out others who are only now feeling the pain. Rural Arizona cannot keep being treated like the first place to cut and the last place anyone thinks about.”
Arizona Department of Water Resources:
"For many months it has been clear that the direction of Colorado River negotiations has been an exercise in lowering expectations, particularly for a long -term, seven -state agreement on operating this vital river system. It was that increasingly bleak scenario that prompted the three Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada to step forward with our proposal to help stabilize Lake Powell and Lake Mead with more than three million acre -feet of water savings over a two -year period.
"While the FEIS just released by the Department of the Interior does nothing to elevate expectations around a coherent seven -state plan for shared sacrifice, it includes an analysis that allows the adoption of many of the core elements of the Lower Basin proposal. We will continue to work with the federal government, as well as with our tribal, agricultural and municipal partners in Arizona, and the other Colorado River Basin states, to make river operations work for the betterment of all.
"The FEIS contains a framework that includes sideboards that are unacceptable for the state of Arizona including reductions in the Lower Basin of up to 3 million acre-feet per year, in priority. Such reductions would devastate Arizona’s water users and its economy. The FEIS framework also fails to include any Upper Basin reductions or sufficient use of water stored in the Upper Initial Units (reservoirs above Lake Powell).
"A forthcoming Record of Decision and operating guidelines will provide the details for operations through 2028 and a framework for an additional eight years of operations. We hope to see those documents provide for operations in 2027 and 2028 consistent with the May 1 Lower Basin Proposal, including sharing reductions among the three Lower Basin states (Arizona, California, and Nevada) of 1.25 million acre -feet in each year, as well as an additional commitment of 700,000 acre -feet of system conservation water. ADWR will continue to work to complete the agreements necessary to implement the Lower Basin Proposal while preserving Arizona’s legal rights.
"We will provide additional statements and opportunities for interviews when Interior releases the Record of Decision and the operating guidelines.
Central Arizona Project:
"We believe the FEIS contains several fundamental legal flaws, fails to encourage consensus among the seven Basin states and inaccurately portrays Arizona’s rights to Colorado River water."
Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro:
“Arizona must be clear-eyed, united, and firm in defense of our water future. The Colorado River is vital to our state, and Arizona has spent decades preparing for drought, conserving water, storing water underground, and building a stronger water system. Our job now is to stay prepared, continue protecting Arizona’s rights, and defend our economy while making sure decisions in Washington recognize the contributions our state makes to national security and the economy.”
U.S. Representative Greg Stanton:
“Solving the Colorado River crisis for the long term demands a fair, workable, basin-wide solution where every state has skin in the game. What we got today is the opposite. Again and again, the federal government refuses to force the Upper Basin to put cuts on the table and entertains scenarios that would devastate Arizona. It is a total failure of leadership.
"Making Arizona shoulder the burden of a shrinking Colorado River ignores our decades of leadership in water conservation, and it ignores our economic and national security importance. Arizona is now America's semiconductor capital. Hundreds of chipmakers and suppliers operate in the Phoenix metro area, building the cutting-edge chips required for everything from consumer electronics to the defense systems flown from our military bases.
"As Mayor and now in Congress, I have worked to prepare Arizona to use less Colorado River water through strong investments in conservation and water recycling in urban and rural areas alike. My top priority is to keep the pain of these cuts as minimal as possible for Arizona families and businesses. I will work with state and federal negotiators to see the Lower Basin Proposal realized and restore some certainty before current guidelines expire. Arizona won’t compromise its legal rights to water without all seven states fairly sacrificing to ensure the future of the Colorado River.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego:
"Solving the Colorado River crisis demands a fair, basin-wide solution in which every stakeholder is asked to sacrifice. Instead, the federal government takes aim at Arizona and Lower Basin states even though we continue to do our part and conservation is a core part of our water culture. Phoenix is prepared to use less Colorado River water, but it is wrong to lay a disproportionate share of the burden on Arizona."
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