← May 16, 2026 briefingClimate
US proposes cutting Colorado River supply by 40%
The Trump administration has proposed slashing water allocations to Arizona, California, and Nevada by up to 40% as the Colorado River's reservoirs sink to critically low levels. The plan emerged after seven states that draw from the river failed to reach their own agreement on cuts. Arizona officials were the first to surface the details at a state water meeting this week.
AI Context
The Colorado River has been over-allocated since the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which divided water rights among seven states based on flow estimates that turned out to be far too optimistic. Decades of drought, accelerated by climate change, have since shrunk the river's output dramatically. Lake Mead and Lake Powel…
Sources
