State officials negotiating a new long-term operating plan for the drought-ravaged Colorado River are warning that time is running short to reach an agreement among the seven states that share the waterway.
During a Tuesday meeting of the Upper Colorado River Commission — which represents the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — negotiators raised concerns that a deal must be in place by “early summer,” or they risk being excluded from necessary environmental impact assessments.
A series of existing agreements that govern the Colorado River will expire at the end of 2026, including how reductions are applied when the waterway’s flows are insufficient to meet the needs of the 40 million individuals and 5.5 million acres of farmland that rely on it.
The river is shared by the Upper Basin states and the Lower Basin, or Arizona, California and Nevada.
