California, Arizona and Nevada announce new water-saving plan for dwindling Colorado River

[Zorro]

Source: Los Angeles Times

With the Colorado River’s giant reservoirs declining toward critically low levels, negotiators for California, Arizona and Nevada announced a new water-saving plan for the next two years.

Representatives of the three states said in a written statement late Friday that their plan aims to “stabilize the Colorado River through 2028.” It will require larger cuts in water use than they had offered previously in talks with other states and the federal government.

“We’re putting forward additional measurable water contributions for the system,” said JB Hamby, the chairman of California’s Colorado River Board. “Without that, the system will continue to decline.”

The three states’ negotiators said their plan identifies more than 3.2 million acre-feet of water cutbacks through 2028, building on their previous proposal.

Representatives of the three states negotiated the short-term deal after they deadlocked in talks with four other states on a long-term plan for sharing the river’s diminishing water.

Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir near Las Vegas, is now 31% full.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-05-02/california-new-colorado-river-plan

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Interesting. Hope it works. I've been watching several YouTube videos on some of the Beaver restorations, all of

which are pretty amazing. I wonder if dumping loads of beavers into the Colorado at every 10 miles or so, some XXX number of beavers, would help? I'm sure that the powers that be, have thought of all possible solutions.

[AllyCat]

9. Was just thinking the same thing.

Reintroducing beaver, a keystone species decimated by trapping might be a natural part of the solution.

That and not having millions of people living in the desert.

[wcmagumba]

2. Stop watering those beautiful green lawns in the middle of a desert would help...

Xeriscaping is the way to go in those areas...Paint it green if you must but don't live in a desert if you want a green grass lawn...imo...

[Dave Id]

3. and...

golf courses.

[AZLD4Candidate]

4. And investing in desalinization in California would be great too.

The Colorado Protocol of 1922 worked when the populations of the states involved were low.

[hunter]

12. I think it's inevitable that Arizona will build desalinization plants in California...

... and trade the desalinated water they produce for California's share of the Colorado River.

Desalinization plants could also be built in Mexico but the politics would be less secure and the environmental impacts worse.

If the state and federal governments cannot agree on reliable water supplies for Arizona cities, it'll mean everything else is going to hell too and the U.S.A. is no longer united.

[oldsoldierfadingfast]

7. and ...

olive trees where cacti usta grow.

[Old Crank]

13. 3/4 % goes to farms

Many grow thirsty crops.
New developments, last 10 years plus, are usually xeroscape.
A few years back Phoenix was using less water than they did in the 1980s. Inspire of the population increase.

[SergeStorms]

5. For the next two years.

What a commitment.

Still, I guess they have to start somewhere.

[Igel]

6. Current and historical Lake Mead data.

https://mead.uslakes.info/Level/

[BonnieJW]

8. I wonder why

they don't release beavers along the river. I've heard several wildlife biologists say that wherever beavers live in rivers in California, there isn't a problem with water shortage.

[popsdenver]

10. those two Republican States, and California Farmers

wouldn't come to the allotment table with Utah and Colorado for a reason......Those Republican states are thinking that Trump will force all reservoirs upstream, many in Colorado, to dump their entire reservoirs which would flow down to Arizona and Nevada to save their asses. The Colorado Reservoirs are needed for Colorado.....and we all know how Trump is doing all kinds of things to damage our TRULY beautiful BLUE state......This would just be a grand slam win for Trump and the Republican Crime Syndicate...and all their Republican MAGAot voters in Arizona and Nevada, including Trumphumpers in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Tucson to name a few...

(Colorado Reservoirs store water for all the Major Blue cities in the State of Colorado, not just farmers, etc...and at best they will only have half the water they usually collect)

[pfitz59]

11. Mandate xeriscape landscaping.

Treat and reuse all wastewater. Ban all 'unregulated' groundwater pumping. Cover all open canals and aquaducts. Mandate water-saving drip irrigation and plant desert friendly crops. Free water barrels and cistern capture from roofs and roads. Plant soil saving vegetation to capture more groundwater. Better manage livestock in sensative wetlands. Encourage domestic water conservation. Enact exponential water fees to decrease consumption. So much can be improved.