Time is up for Arizona and six other southwestern states to reach an agreement on sharing Colorado River water, or risk the federal government stepping in with its own plan.
On Friday, Tom Buschatzke, Arizona's negotiator in the deal, announced there will be no deal made by tomorrow's February 14 deadline. He provided the following statement:
"Arizona remains committed to compromise and accommodation. The negotiations may be at an unfortunate stalemate, but they are not at an end – not, at least, if our river partners in the Upper Basin accept the reality that Arizona cannot be asked to sacrifice its water security while receiving virtually nothing in return.
Through it all, these difficult negotiations still reduce to a simple truth: All of those who benefit from the Colorado River’s bounty must share in the responsibility to preserve the river’s health."
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 had 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.
A day ahead of the federal deadline for Colorado River negotiations, Lower Basin Governors Hobbs, Joe Lombardo, and Gavin Newsom released the following joint statement:
“The federal deadline for a consensus agreement on managing the Colorado River after 2026 is passing for a second time without resolution. The stakes couldn’t be higher for our Lower Basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada. Approximately 75% of the population, employment, and agricultural crop sales of the Colorado River Basin are in our states. This also includes 25 of the 30 sovereign Tribal Nations that live within the Basin.
“The Colorado River is essential to our communities and economies, and our states have conserved large volumes of water in recent years to stabilize the basin’s water supplies for years to come. To secure a seven-state agreement for post-2026 management of the river, Arizona has offered to reduce its Colorado River allocation by 27%, California by 10%, and Nevada by nearly 17%. Our stance remains firm and fair: all seven basin states must share in the responsibility of conservation. Our shared success hinges on compromise, and we have offered significant flexibility, allowing states without robust conservation programs time to gradually develop these programs in ways that work in each state.
“Our future management of the Colorado River must be built on a foundation of shared contribution and innovation, with all Colorado River water users stretching to conserve water. Our commitment to a collaborative outcome is unwavering, and we will continue to pursue a negotiated resolution while protecting our water users.”
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