Arizona and six other southwestern states have just three days to reach an agreement on sharing Colorado River water, or risk the federal government stepping in with its own plan.
The current rules for distributing Colorado River water expire at the end of this year, leaving millions of people across the Southwest in uncertainty about their water future. Despite ongoing negotiations, the seven basin states have yet to agree on how to divide the increasingly scarce resource.
The Department of the Interior released some potential plans in January, many of which lay out deep cuts to Arizona.
"We are prepared to take deeper cuts. What we're not prepared to do is balance the entire river, the smaller river, on Arizona's shoulders," said Brenda Burman, the Central Arizona Project general manager.
The negotiations have been complicated by increasing demand and decreasing supply due to drought and record-low snowpacks. Much of Arizona holds "junior" rights to the river, meaning the state is first to face cuts during drought conditions.
The federal government has given the seven basin states until Valentine's Day to reach a deal or risk having a federal plan imposed on the Colorado River system.
Governor Katie Hobbs recently met in Washington, D.C., with the Department of the Interior and other Southwest governors in hopes of reaching a deadline deal.
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