Overview
- Water experts testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday that the Interior Department will issue its own management plan by mid-summer if the seven basin states cannot agree on cuts.
- The Bureau of Reclamation has ordered emergency releases of up to 1 million acre-feet from Flaming Gorge to bolster Lake Powell and keep its hydropower online.
- Downstream states including Arizona, California and Nevada have proposed voluntary cutbacks while upstream states—Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico—have resisted mandatory reductions and signaled alternative legal positions under the 1922 compact.
- Several states are preparing to sue or defend themselves: Arizona has hired outside counsel and Utah has started a legal fund, and witnesses urged Congress to withhold federal money from states that pursue litigation.
- The river supplies about 40 million people, supports power generation and Mexico obligations, and experts warn that interstate compact litigation could take decades and deepen supply and economic strains for cities, farms and tribal communities.