• Water

Six States Back Colorado River Water Sharing Plan, Arizona on the Fence

• Arizona
• climate change
• colorado river
• Department of Interior
• Drought
• Lake Mead
• shortage
• tribes
• water

Tomorrow is the deadline for a deal among the seven states that share water from the Colorado River, and one state, Arizona, is holding out.  The water plan agreed to by the other states back in December, confronts the long-running drought in the region, the resulting dwindling supply of water from the River, and how the states can ensure river water does not get overused.  Arizona was the only state that required the plan be approved by its Legislature, which according to the Associated Press, has made the negotiations on the drought contingency plan more complex. What if Arizona does not meet the deadline?  Then the Department of Interior will allegedly ask the other states for their views on how to divide the limited pool of water, and then the federal government will rule unilaterally.