The proposal at a glance
The US Bureau of Reclamation released a plan on Friday that would cut Colorado River water deliveries to Arizona, California and Nevada during dry years. The cuts could reach up to 3 million acre-feet a year through 2036. That is about as much water as Arizona and Nevada receive in a year, and enough to serve more than 25 million people.
The proposal would spare the four Upper Basin states, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, from mandatory cuts for now. Actual reductions would be set every two years, based on the level of the river's reservoirs.
How the cuts would be shared
Under the plan, half of the required cuts would be divided among the three states using a framework they already developed. Beyond that, the river's priority water rights system would apply. That system generally protects California's users before those in Arizona and Nevada.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the department has a responsibility to keep the Colorado River system reliable for the millions of Americans, communities and industries that depend on it. The river supplies water to farms, cities and tribes across the Southwest and powers hydroelectric dams.
States respond
Reactions from the three states were sharply different. Leaders in Arizona, which holds the lowest priority rights, called the federal proposal flawed. California officials called it an important milestone but not the finish line. Nevada officials said the proposed reductions were unrealistic and devastating.
Experts say deeper cuts could mean higher water prices, more reliance on groundwater and fields left unplanted. The river has been shrinking for decades, and the seven states that share it have failed to agree on how to divide the pain.