Overview
- Nevada, joined by the Colorado River Commission of Nevada and the Southern Nevada Water Authority, filed a federal lawsuit on Monday in Las Vegas seeking to set aside the Interior Department’s Record of Decision.
- Last Friday the Interior finalized a 10-year operations framework that requires roughly 1.25 million acre-feet of reduced Lower Basin deliveries for 2027–2028 and preserves authority to impose much larger cuts if reservoir levels keep falling.
- The complaint alleges the department violated federal environmental and administrative laws and misapplied the century-old ‘Law of the River,’ and it says officials failed to analyze the plan’s economic and public‑health impacts as required.
- Under the new rules Nevada could face cuts of as much as about 213,556 acre-feet in a worst-case shortage leaving southern Nevada with roughly 86,500 acre-feet, while Arizona faces near-term losses of about one-third of its Colorado River supply and tribes, cities, farmers and hydropower users would also face steep effects.
- The suit could delay or complicate implementation, invite more state and tribal challenges — Arizona is evaluating its options — and push utilities and communities to speed contingency measures such as groundwater pumping, reuse, desalination and paid conservation.