Colorado River negotiations continue as states await fed decision

Arizona and Nevada criticized the framework for placing a disproportionate burden on the lower basin while sparing upper-basin states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico — from mandatory water cuts.

John Entsminger, Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager and Nevada’s lead negotiator on the Colorado River, provided limited details on the status of negotiations Wednesday during Nevada Democratic U.S. Rep. Susie Lee’s fourth annual Southern Nevada Water Summit.

“I’ve been on four or five phone calls this morning already. Negotiations are ongoing,”  Entsminger said. “I think there’s a short-term solution.”

At the center of the rift is whether upstream states will agree to evenly share mandatory water cuts and accept long-term conservation plans in order to spare downstream states from taking steeper cuts.

Entsminger said there is still hope for change in the federal operational guidelines proposed last month, and said negotiations have continued to move from the initial proposal toward a more acceptable outcome for lower basin states.

“We’ll keep talking to people, and that’s the overall goal. We saw a version A, and now we’re trying to land on version C or D that everyone can live with,” Entsminger said. 

The federal government’s framework for how to manage the river’s largest reservoirs has narrowed negotiations by presenting a preferred alternative, said Entsminger, but he believes another round or two of negotiation is still needed.

Entsminger said he sees a path to a possible short-term 1 to 3 year operating plan, but not yet a durable multidecade solution. If negotiations collapse, the federal government will issue its own operating decision.

This week, Lake Mead – the largest reservoir in the U.S. – dropped to a record-low water level, imperiling a crucial source of water and power for millions of Americans. 

Entsminger noted that the river’s century-old legal framework fails to address modern climate conditions, which have reduced the Colorado River’s flow by 20% over the last two decades. 

The 1922 Colorado River Compact, which allocated 7.5 million acre-feet for each basin, was based on a faulty model that assumed the river system could supply 15 million acre-feet annually.

Today, officials acknowledge only 12.4 million acre-feet flows from the river each year, meaning western states will have to agree on massive cuts to their water supply for the sake of the river. Since the turn of the century, Lake Mead has lost more than 65% of its storage.

“The challenge that confronts us right now is climate change and drought has been so severe that our ability to negotiate those kinds of compromises hasn’t been keeping up to this point,” Entsminger said. 

The Interior Department has yet to put out its finalized operating agreement, however state leaders have pushed back on the agency’s preferred alternative. 

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo last month said the federal plan “seeks to impose unrealistic reductions on Nevada and our water users,” and “could have devastating economic and environmental impacts on Nevada.”

The governor called for “shared sacrifice from all water users across the Colorado River Basin.”

Nevada’s preference remains negotiation over litigation, said Entsminger, but each state will evaluate the eventual federal record of decision independently. Entsminger said Nevada would also protect its interests if litigation arose.

“On behalf of Nevada, our first, second, and third choice is negotiation and cooperation,” Entsminger said. “But at the end of the day, if somebody wants to challenge something, we also have to protect our rights.”

The Bureau of Reclamation’s 10-year plan laying out a new operating blueprint for the Colorado River beginning in 2027, comes amid record low snowpack across the West. Those conditions have motivated states to reach a compromise, said Entsminger. 

“Bad water years always incentivize negotiation,” Entsminger said. “ I would harken back to 2019. Right as we were about to sign the drought contingency plan, we got one of the four wettest years in the 21st century. And that wet year almost derailed the deal.”

Mike Connor, a water official for the Biden, Obama, and Clinton Administrations, also warned states against litigation when it comes to Colorado River matters.  

“Quite frankly, if you’ve got any certainty that you’re going to win, I ask you to look at the history of litigation in the Supreme Court in water cases and reconsider your position,” Connor said.  

Lee highlighted federal funding which has kept Lake Mead from collapsing, including $141 million in federal funding for 20 water projects across Nevada under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted during the Biden administration.

The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the Hoover Dam, also recently authorized investing $52 million in three wide-head turbines capable of operating at low water levels, which would help protect hydropower capacity at the  dam.

“Despite everything going on right now, I do believe there’s still hope, and as Nevadans, we’ve consistently demonstrated that economic growth and responsible water management go hand in hand,” Lee said.