An overlook above Lake Mead, one of the two biggest reservoirs on the Colorado River, near Boulder City, Nevada. (Caroline Brehman/Reuters)
The plan, part of which the Bureau of Reclamation described in an Environmental Impact Statement early on Friday morning, comes at a time of escalating crisis for the Colorado River, a crucial water source for seven states, 30 Native tribes and a swath of northwestern Mexico. But experts say it will not be sufficient to resolve a political standoff among the river’s many users or prevent the beleaguered waterway from teetering toward collapse.
Friday’s announcement outlines a broad 10-year framework for operating the river’s dams and reservoirs. It calls for more specific operating plans to be developed every two years and offers a wide range of possible measures those plans could include — including reducing the amount of water released to the Lower Basin by as much as 40 percent.
The framework does not consider mandatory cuts to water use from the four states in the upper part of the basin — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — though it does allow for voluntary reductions. Arizona, California and Nevada make up the Lower Basin.