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WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will continue to rely on less Colorado River water next year after the U.S. government announced cuts Thursday to maintain existing supplies, spelling long-term hardship for the 40 million people who depend on the endangered river.
The 2,334-kilometer (1,450-mile) waterway provides water to the western United States and to cities and farms in northern Mexico. In the western United States, it supplies water to seven states, more than two dozen indigenous tribes, and irrigates millions of hectares of agricultural land. It also produces hydroelectric power for use throughout the region.
Years of overdevelopment, combined with rising temperatures and drought, have caused the Colorado River’s flow to drop compared with past decades.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announces how much water will be available next year months in advance so cities, farmers and others can make plans. Authorities rely on the level of Lake Mead, one of the river’s two main reservoirs, to gauge its flow.
Under those levels, Arizona would again lose 18% of its allotment of Colorado River water, while Mexico’s allotment would drop by 5%. Nevada, which uses much less water than Arizona, California or Mexico, would see its reduction remain at 7%.
The cuts announced Thursday are in the same “Tier 1” category as those for this year and 2022, when the first federal cuts to the Colorado River were implemented, deepening the river’s crisis. Deeper cuts were implemented in 2023; the hardest hit are Arizona farmers.
Increased rainfall in Arizona, California and Nevada, along with some water conservation measures, have slightly improved the near-term outlook for Lake Mead and Lake Powell, located upstream of Mead on the Utah-Arizona border.
Authorities reported Thursday that two reservoirs were at 37% capacity.
They praised water conservation measures being taken in Arizona, California and Nevada that will last until 2026. The federal government is paying water users in those states for much of the savings. Meanwhile, states, tribes and others are negotiating how to share the river’s water after 2026, when many of the current guidelines governing the river will no longer apply.
Arizona users are “committed to incredible protections … to protect the Colorado River system,” Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the state’s lead representative in those negotiations, said Thursday.
“Future conditions,” he added, “may continue to force us to make difficult decisions.”
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Associated Press writer Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California, contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press receives support for its coverage of water and environmental policy from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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