Overview
- The Bureau of Reclamation published a Final Environmental Impact Statement on Friday, July 31, that sets a 10‑year operating framework for the Colorado River and directs two‑year reviews to adjust water operations.
- The document authorizes, subject to hydrology, up to 3 million acre‑feet per year of collective cuts concentrated in the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, with specific annual allocations to be set in the next operational plan.
- An acre‑foot is about 325,000 gallons, enough water for roughly three U.S. homes for a year, so the authorized maximum reductions would equal billions of gallons and large impacts on cities and farms.
- For now the Upper Basin states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico) are spared mandatory cuts while the Lower Basin proposal offered by Arizona, California and Nevada to conserve about 3.2 million acre‑feet over two years may be used for 2027–2028.
- The FEIS is not yet policy: a Record of Decision must follow and the first two‑year operations will be finalized in coming days or weeks, after which legal challenges and political fights—notably from Arizona—are expected as municipalities, farmers and tribes assess economic and supply impacts.