The Trump administration is preparing to unilaterally impose dramatic water supply cuts across the West after the states that share the Colorado River missed a Saturday deadline for agreeing on a new plan for managing the drought-stricken waterway.
Even as he holds out hope that the states may yet reach a deal, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said he can’t wait any longer to prepare a Plan B, with reservoirs along the West’s most important river poised to shrivel to crisis levels as soon as this summer.
“I want to thank the governors of the seven Basin States for their constructive engagement and commitment to collaboration,” Burgum said in a statement. “We remain dedicated to working with them and their representatives to identify shared solutions and reduce litigation risk.”
The lack of a state pact leaves the Trump administration stuck with nothing but politically painful options. The region’s two reddest states — Utah and Wyoming — are pitted against two of the country’s most prized political swing states — Arizona and Nevada — in the fight over dwindling supplies that support 40 million people from Denver to Phoenix to Los Angeles.
