The U.S. Department of the Interior released a new two-year operating plan on Friday that requires Arizona, California, and Nevada to significantly reduce the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River. The plan aims to manage water levels in the river’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which recently reached record lows.
The federal intervention follows years of unsuccessful negotiations among the seven states that share the river's resources. While a 10-year framework was established in July, this specific plan mandates water reductions for the lower basin states through 2028. The upper basin states—Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico—are not required to make mandatory cuts under these new guidelines.
Under the plan, Arizona will face the largest reduction at 760,000 acre-feet, representing about 27% of its typical draw. California will reduce its usage by 440,000 acre-feet, a 10% cut, and Nevada will take 50,000 acre-feet less, a 16% reduction. Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, noted that while no cuts would be ideal, the outcome was preferable to "draconian" alternatives. However, officials in Nevada and California expressed concern that the plan does not require "equal water responsibility" from the upper basin states.
The scale of the reduction is substantial, totaling 1.25 million acre-feet across the three lower basin states. To put this in perspective, Arizona's 760,000 acre-foot cut represents a loss of more than one-quarter of its allotted supply. The Department of the Interior is implementing these measures to prevent a "system crash," where reservoir levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell drop so low that water can no longer be physically delivered through the infrastructure. If water levels continue to decline, residents could eventually see changes in their utility bills, water-use restrictions, and potential impacts on hydroelectric power generation.
The interim nature of the 2028 plan sets a precedent for biennial federal adjustments in the absence of a voluntary agreement between the states. This could lead to further legal challenges; officials in Nevada have stated they will fight to protect their supply, and California water managers warned that the system remains one dry year away from crisis. The seven states may continue to negotiate a long-term deal that would supersede these federal mandates. If no agreement is reached, the Bureau of Reclamation will reassess and potentially issue new reduction requirements every two years based on reservoir conditions.