Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The U.S. government spared seven western states from mandatory Colorado River cuts for now, but warned Tuesday that drastic conservation is needed to protect the shrinking reservoirs from overuse and severe drought exacerbated by climate change. The US Recovery Bureau in June had given states 60 days, until mid-August, to negotiate their own reductions or face mandatory cuts imposed by the federal government. Federal officials have called for reduced water use of 2 to 4 million acre feet annually, an unprecedented 15 percent to 30 percent reduction next year. But Bureau and Interior Department officials said at a news conference that they would give states more time to reach an agreement that would affect the water supply of 40 million people. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Instead, they caved to the previously negotiated cuts, which for the second year in a row would impose reductions on Nevada, Arizona and the state of Mexico, which also receives an allotment of the Colorado River. Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said federal officials will continue to work with the seven Colorado River states to reach an agreement: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. “With that said, we remain steadfast in the need to protect the system,” Bodreau said, adding that he was encouraged by the talks so far and by the new federal money for water management. Even so, federal officials have said more cuts are needed, both in terms already negotiated in the 100-year-old Colorado River Compact and the 21st-century reality of human-induced climate change, resulting in higher temperatures and drier lands. A 24-month forecast released Tuesday showed falling levels in the river’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, would trigger previously negotiated cuts. Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will have reduced supplies for the second year in a row: 21% for Arizona, 8% for Nevada and 7% for Mexico. They are the first to be subject to cuts under the Colorado River Compact. Last year, they were hit with declines of 18%, 7% and 5% respectively, for the first time. Negotiations for further reductions are creating tension among states, especially as California, the biggest user, has so far avoided cuts caused by low reservoir levels. Lake Mead and Lake Powell are just over a quarter of their capacity. If they fall much lower, they won’t be able to generate hydropower for millions in the West. “It is unacceptable for Arizona to continue to bear a disproportionate burden of cuts to benefit others who have not contributed,” Ted Cook, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, said in a statement. John Enzminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said he had hoped for more urgency from the office Tuesday. “It’s possible for us to make the biggest cuts necessary, but I think it’s going to take everyone at the table realizing that everyone has to suffer a similar level of pain to get there,” Enzminger said. The 23-year drought, the worst on record in at least 1,200 years, is testing the endurance of the compact, which a century ago assumed the river could provide 20 million acre-feet of water each year. The river’s actual flow over the past two decades has averaged 12.5 million acre-feet, leaving state water managers with more rights on paper than the water in the river. “As we’ve emphasized since taking office, the conditions we face will require swift action and increased water conservation in every state, from every sector,” said Tania Trujillo, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for water and science. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Caitlin Ochs. Edited by Donna Bryson and Josie Kao Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
