LAS VEGAS — In the negotiations over new agreements managing the Colorado River, the people involved in the high-stakes talks describe things as moving "slowly."
The Colorado River Water Users Association's annual meetings got underway here on Wednesday, with leaders from seven states, tribes, the federal government and the country of Mexico hoping to hammer out a deal before the current management agreements expire in 2026. The CRWUA meeting itself brings together stakeholders from all over to discuss issues facing the river that supplies water to more than 40 million people across the western United States.
In hallway chats, people discussed conservation efforts, cuts and water flows. On stages, water officials warned that no one wanted litigation.
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"Negotiations are going slowly," said Amy Haas, the executive director of the Colorado River Authority of Utah. "Many of us are optimistic that we’re going to get to 'yes' in terms of a consensus alternative. But we definitely have differences of opinion."
That view was shared by Jessica Neuwerth, the acting director of the Colorado River Board of California.
"This is the water supply for a big chunk of the Western U.S. that we’re talking about and we need to be making sacrifices," she said Wednesday.
In speeches on Wednesday, many of the states' commissioners appointed to deal with Colorado River negotiations pointed out that prior agreements were made for a river that simply doesn't exist anymore. There is less water due to drought, diversions and climate change.
The disagreements appear to focus on who makes cuts and by how much.
"We need to see meaningful reductions and the majority of those need to be where the largest use is, in the Lower Basin states," said Becky Mitchell, the Colorado River Commissioner for Colorado, which is in the Upper Basin of the Colorado River. "That does not mean we are not willing to be a part of the solution."
Lower Basin states (which are California, Nevada and Arizona) insist they are doing a lot to conserve. At its meeting on Wednesday, California officials touted some significant conservation efforts — users in that state have conserved enough to raise Nevada's Lake Mead upstream by 16 feet.
"We do feel like we are putting a lot on the table," said Neuwerth. "We’re going to be asking a lot of people and farmers across the basin. Our push is we need to see a similar effort across the Basin. It can’t just be us doing a majority of the work."
Upper Basin states (Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico) have floated proposals including a "credit for conservation" idea. But the view of those states is that they can't really cut any more.
Native American tribes are also deeply involved in negotiations, having previously been excluded from prior agreements. Asked if he was hopeful an agreement could be reached, Ute Mountain Ute Chair Manuel Heart replied bluntly: "No."
"There'll be a time where somebody will disagree with another person or another municipality or Upper, Lower Basin," he said. "But the word is compromise. Trust in the compromise. Come to the realization that we just have so much supply and we're trying to meet the demand. We have kids and grandkids that are not here yet. They too need to share this water we have. What limited water we’ll have in the future!
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has floated a series of alternative proposals. States are evaluating them and seeking more information, but water officials said the states are not beholden to the alternatives. It remains to be seen how the incoming Trump administration will respond to the negotiations, but the Biden administration has prodded negotiations along.
Outgoing U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton visited meetings at CRWUA, praising efforts at conservation and urging consensus.
"I look forward to celebrating our successes now and, most importantly, I look forward to celebrating future successes," she told Upper Basin state representatives on Wednesday. "The river depends on it."
