Overview
- The Interior Department’s Record of Decision is now in effect and requires Arizona, California and Nevada to cut Colorado River deliveries by about 1.25 million acre-feet per year for the next two years with the option for deeper, decade-long reductions if reservoirs fall further.
- Nevada has filed federal suit seeking to block the plan, arguing the cuts could strip more than 70 percent of its allocation and imperil Las Vegas’s water supply and economy.
- Upper Basin states are not subject to mandatory cuts but the framework invites up to roughly 200,000 acre-feet of voluntary contributions and includes about $100 million to compensate participants and fund programs.
- Lake Mead and Lake Powell have dropped to record-low levels and the plan creates tools such as a possible Lake Powell conservation pool and coordinated reservoir drawdowns to keep dam outlets and hydropower functioning.
- Cities, tribes and farmers report immediate uncertainty and response measures—capping growth, reviving wells, delaying plantings and making water deals—as local economies and planning face rising costs and legal unpredictability.