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Federal cuts begin 2027
The U.S. government ordered major Colorado River water cuts for California, Nevada and Arizona under Bureau of Reclamation operating guidelines, with the Lower Basin states collectively reducing water use by 1.25 million acre-feet annually over the next two years beginning in 2027.
“"We've been in this 26-year prolonged drought period,"”
Anadolu Ajansı reported that Interior Department Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Andrea Travnicek said, "We've been in this 26-year prolonged drought period," as the plan responds to a prolonged drought straining the Colorado River system.
The ABC News account said the Department of the Interior would reduce deliveries of 1.25 million acre-feet of water each year for 2027 and 2028, and warned it could order additional cuts over the next 10 years.
ABC News also described how the reductions would be divided if the states implement a voluntary agreement negotiated in May, with Arizona facing 760,000 acre-feet, California 440,000 acre-feet, and Nevada 50,000 acre-feet less water.
The Anadolu Ajansı report added that Mexico will also reduce its water intake by 250,000 acre-feet under a US-Mexico treaty as the current rules governing the river expire in October.
Quotes, disputes, and framing
In a statement carried by ABC News, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said, "Forty million people, millions of acres of farmland and ranchland," depend on the Colorado River, while the plan is framed as short-term stability after failed negotiations among the seven basin states.
Reuters reported that Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said the federal government "won't back down in defense of our rights" as she threatened legal action over the possibility of far deeper cuts later in the decade.
The Reuters account said the three lower basin states would take around a 21% reduction in water from the river in 2027 and 2028, while cuts could nearly double in later years, and it noted that the four Upper Basin states face no mandatory cuts under the new 10-year plan.
ABC News described the operating guidelines as encouraging the three states to "voluntarily conserve and store at least 700,000 acre-feet of water over the two-year period" to protect the system.
Reuters also said California Governor Gavin Newsom called for all seven states to conserve, adding that "Any long-term solution must share responsibility fairly across all seven states" in recognition of the river’s new reality.
Reservoir risks and next steps
The crisis is tied to record-low reservoir levels, with Anadolu Ajansı saying the basin experienced its lowest snowpack on record last winter and that pressure is mounting on agriculture, industry, wildlife, hydropower production and communities dependent on the river.
“"a bridge, not a permanent solution"”
ABC News reported that DOI says it will try to keep Lake Powell at or above 3,510 feet, 20 feet above the point at which Glen Canyon Dam could no longer generate hydropower, while the federal government did not mandate reductions for the Upper Basin states.
The Anadolu Ajansı account said the seven basin states have yet to reach a long-term agreement on sharing the river’s water as the current rules expire in October, and it quoted California’s chief Colorado River negotiator JB Hamby describing the deal as "a bridge, not a permanent solution."
Reuters added that the water level of Lake Powell sat at 3,519.2 feet above sea level on Thursday, less than 30 feet above the minimum level needed to operate the Glen Canyon Dam hydroelectric power plant in Arizona.
With the plan covering 2027 and 2028 and operating guidelines up for review every two years, ABC News said the Department and Reclamation will continue working with basin stakeholders to modernize infrastructure, develop conservation programs, and identify "innovative approaches to deliver water under changing conditions".